Places I've Shat

I have been working in downtown Chicago for twelve out of the last thirteen years. Here is a list of the buildings I have worked in while in the Loop.

564 W. Randolph – My first job downtown was with IRI and I was given a desk on the first floor of their off shot building. It had whole seven floors and only two elevators. Located in the west loop, I was kind of in no man’s land when it came to lunch. We would usually hit Paula’s, a sit down greasy spoon across the street. I spent a couple years at that location before I moved.

150 N. Clinton – This was IRI’s main building. It was connected to the Randolph building via a crosswalk built over the alleys on the 6^th floor. It was also just mere steps from the Lake street green line stop which was convenient when I was at DePaul My desk was moved to the second floor when the pc lab was forced to move. It was actually a cool looking building in that they had this new age wooden design going on when you walked in. There was a racquetball court and showers located on the 6^th floor, making it a kind of cool place to work. I didn’t sit there that long but for the short time I did, I enjoyed it.

525 W. Monroe - Ah, the Monroe building. Eventually IRI grew so large that they leased out four floors in an old building that Xerox used to own. IRI had floors 2-5. I was assigned to support this off site building. This was great because I was by myself and had my own thing going on. I was given an office on the 4^th floor and everything. It was a cool building and it was in a much better location. It was just a mere two blocks from Union station so I didn’t have a long walk. Also, my lunch choices opened up as it was near a lot of places. I eventually moved to the second floor and set up my own personal lab there. A great time and one of the best buildings I ever worked in.

222 Merchandise Mart Plaza – When I finally got back downtown I did so, by working at the Mart. Located at the very north end of the loop, I again lucked out, as this was a historic and great place to work. I was consulting with Monsanto at this point and they had the 9^th floor of the mart rented out. It was great as the building had it’s own red and purple line stop so, getting there was a cinch. Also, they had a food court so, on bad days I didn’t even have to leave the building to go to lunch. We also had a pool table, bouche ball court, and hammocks. Just a great location and a great building.

200 W. Monroe – When I first got hired at Harris Bank, they gave me a desk in this building on the 14^th floor. I didn’t sit there very long so I don’t have a lot of memories of it. The building had a Burger King and a Hallmark shop in the lobby. It was a nice location as it is in the heart of the loop and again I had a number of lunch options.

311 W. Monroe – Once I became a Lan Admin at Harris Bank, I was moved to the 311 team, which meant I would support that building. I was first given a cube on the 9^th floor. I would eventually move to the 8^th and finally the 3^rd floor. I sat in that little building from early 99 until I left in 2003. It is a small building with only 14 floors. The main bank was located two blocks away so, we were kind of left on our own. The check processing units and lockbox were located there so, those were the areas I supported. All in all I liked working there as it was a good location and offered me a lot of options for travel and lunch.

20 S. Clark – When I first started at Bank One the first building that I sat at was this one. I only sat there for two three months so, I don’t have much of a history of it. My desk was in the 14^th floor. It was a bit of a walk from Union Station but again was located right smack dab in the middle of the loop so, I could get anywhere I wanted rather easily.

131 S. Dearborn – This is where I currently sit. I’ve been here now for a little over two years. It is a brand new building that does not have a lot of history or character. I sit on the 6^th floor. We have a Walgreen’s in our lobby, which is nice. It is a haul every day as it is eight city blocks from my train station but hey I could use the workout. I do have a blue line stop right in front of my building so, that is pretty cool. Plus being only one block off of State St. is a nice feature come Christmas time in case I need to run to Carson’s or Marshall Fields for a last minute gift.