CBOT Chairman Rededicates Statues "Lost" For 76 Years

The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) today began its celebration of the 75^th anniversary of the Exchange’s landmark building, with Exchange Chairman Charles P. Carey rededicating two statues that once stood at the entrance of the original CBOT building completed in 1885.

The statues, weighing 5-1/2 tons and standing 12 feet tall, mysteriously disappeared 76 years ago when the former CBOT building was razed to make way for the current Art Deco-style building. These allegorical representations of agriculture and industry were later discovered in the Hidden Lake Forest Preserve in Downers Grove, Illinois.

CBOT Chairman Carey said, “We are very excited to rededicate these important links to the city’s past and restore them to a place of prominence outside of the CBOT building. On behalf of the entire Exchange, I want to express our appreciation for the generosity and goodwill of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, which has graciously returned the statues home. The history of the 157-year old CBOT is closely intertwined with that of Chicago, and the Exchange is a powerful symbol of the city’s vibrant financial district – thus it is fitting that visitors to the CBOT will now be able to enjoy the statues right in the heart of Chicago.”

The statues’ rededication ceremony is being held 75 years to the day of the CBOT moving into its current home, an Art Deco building whose exterior base covers one-half city block. Recently, the Exchange began a $19 million renovation of the Board of Trade building, which includes the restoration of the main lobby, complete elevator modernization, facade cleaning and repair, and a number of mechanical, electrical and safety infrastructure projects.

As it turns 75 years old, the infrastructure of the Board of Trade Building remains state-of-the-art with:

· Unsurpassed electrical infrastructure with 10 feeds from 7 different ComEd substations
· Redundant cooling systems from on site chillers and Chicago Thermal Technologies’ district cooling
· Multiple fiber optic backbones
· A dozen telecom/bandwidth providers
· Highly advanced security and life-safety systems

With a mix of aesthetic and infrastructure improvements, the Board of Trade Building provides existing and future tenants the best of both worlds: an office building with cutting-edge technology in an architecturally and historically rich setting. This blend truly makes the building “the landmark for the future.”

The following are clips from rededication ceremony:

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