State & Illinois cleared during high-rise window replacement

(Above) A worker appears in an empty space that used to be a window on about the 32nd floor of 505 North State Street on Monday afternoon. (Click on image to view larger version.)

25-Aug-14 – Chicago police blocked State and Illinois Streets near 505 North State Street on Monday afternoon as a precaution during installation of a windowpane on the building’s 32nd floor.

Hotel Palomar is the most prominent tenant of the building but above it are “serviced apartments,” operated by BridgeStreet Worldwide, used for corporate housing and extended stays.

The apartments feature floor-to-ceiling windows and over the weekend, one of the south-facing windows shattered but did not break apart, according to the general manager of Hotel Palomar.

“The only way to fix it is to have the window smashed out and then replaced, which is what was happening this afternoon,” said Nabil Moubayed. ’Unfortunately, it is a lot of moving parts for one small issue.”

State Street was blocked between West Hubbard Street and East Grand Avenue. Illinois Street was blocked between North Dearborn Street and North Wabash Avenue.