Chicago Blackhawks and CNA Plaza

[Tannerman]

Believe it or not, Chicago has a hockey team. Of course, you wouldn't have known this over the past few decades the way they were mismanaged. But thanks the owner dying, a good young team, aggressive marketing, and stealing a promotional genius from the Cubs, the Chicago Blackhawks are back on our sports radar after a long, long absence.

Blackhawks and CNA Plaza
(Source: CNA - Used with Permission)

Believe it or not, they are actually doing quite well, playing in the Stanley Cup finals. They've advanced to the NHL Western Conference Finals against fellow "Original Six" rival, the Detroit Red Wings.

Official Lighting Plan
(Source: CNA - Used with Permission)

As is typical in this town, when a sports team reaches a certain level of playoff performance, they are given the highest honor... a lighted window message on CNA Plaza to cheer them on! The fact that there wasn't an existing template for the Hawks' logo just goes to show how long it's been since they've been relevant.

My father, who is a building carpenter at CNA Plaza, has long been involved in making these lighted window messages come to life. What that has to do with carpentry I'll never know, but I don't think there's a union for "Sports and Civic Messages Displayed By Illuminated Windows on Chicago Skyscrapers".

The Blackhawks logo is visible during the daylight hours
(Photo by Steve Tanner, 5/24/09)

With the sun setting later and later, it takes a little longer to get everything in place just right vs. the winter months. Typically, a person heads outside with a walkie talkie to communicate with the building staff regarding what windows still need to be aligned properly based on the plan.

Foamboard cutouts helped define the facial features
(Source: CNA - Used with Permission)


Note the angled cutouts
(Source: CNA - Used with Permission)

For the Blackhawks, the classic Indian head logo was represented on the West and East Sides of the CNA building, creatively using negative space and some angled foamboard cutouts to best represent the look. On the North and South Sides of the building, the word "HAWKS" is spelled out vertically.

Good luck to the Blackhawks! It's great to see them be relevant again!

Thanks again to the folks at CNA -- as well as my Dad and his boss Neal -- for providing a information about the Blackhawks lighted window message.

For more building images, visit our...
CNA Plaza Lighted Window Message Archive

[spudart]

I enjoy the shades pulled half-way down for the mouth. (or maybe they are wooden panels?) If it was a full window, the blackhawk would have looked like he has his mouth agape. The half is perfect.

[Tannerman]

Originally Posted by spudart

I enjoy the shades pulled half-way down for the mouth. (or maybe they are wooden panels?)

It's actually foamboard, cut to size.