Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Numerous important Chicago skyscrapers, sports facilities and other important buildings have been renamed over the years.

Willis Group Holdings insurance company announced Thursday that it will move its Chicago offices into Sears Tower, which will be renamed the Willis Tower. It won't be the first prominent Chicago skyscraper to undergo a name change. 

• The white stone-clad Aon Center, 200 E. Randolph Dr., was completed in 1973 as the Standard Oil Building, and was affectionately nicknamed "Big Stan." The building changed names to the Amoco Building in 1985 when Standard Oil changed its name, and became the Aon Center at the end of 1999 when the Aon insurance company moved its headquarters in. To this day, it's not uncommon to hear Chicagoans call the tower the Standard Oil Building. 

• From 1910 until 1990, the White Sox played at Comiskey Park, named for owner Charles Comiskey who commissioned its construction. The ballpark that replaced it across 35th Street in 1991 was also called Comiskey Park, until 2003, when the White Sox signed a 23-year, $68 million deal to rename it U.S. Cellular Field. 

• Rosemont Horizon opened in 1979, and became a destination for concerts, circuses, and ice shows. But it is perhaps best known as a sports venue for Chicago Wolves hockey, DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball, and soccer games with the former Chicago Sting. In a $20 million deal in 1999, the Horizon became the Allstate Arena. 

• Dyche Stadium was finished in 1926 as home of Northwestern Wildcats football. It was named for Evanston mayor and Northwestern alumnus William Dyche. In 1997, it was renamed to honor Pat Ryan, then the Northwestern board of trustees chairman and now the head of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid committee, whose family donated funds to renovate it. The name change drew a backlash from Northwestern alumni. 

• In September 2006, not just one building, but an entire chain of department stores changed names, drawing the ire of many Chicagoans. Marshall Field's was renamed Macy's, along with several other regional department store chains bought out by Federated Department Stores, later Macy's Inc. Groups have been demanding that the name be changed back ever since. 

• In February 2008, Tribune Company Chief Executive Officer Sam Zell said he would not hesitate to sell naming rights to Wrigley Field, despite protests from baseball purists. But strangely enough, Wrigley Field is not the original name of the historic Cubs ballpark. It opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park, and became Cubs Park in 1920. Then-Cubs owner William Wrigley Jr. slapped his name on the field in 1926. 

• The Majestic Theatre opened at 18 W. Monroe St. in 1906, and was a hot spot on the Vaudeville Circuit for decades until had had to close during the Great Depression. But in 1945, it reopened as the Shubert Theatre, and became one of the city's most prominent venues for Chicago productions of Broadway plays. The Shubert was renamed the LaSalle Bank Theatre in 2005, and then the Bank of America Theatre when LaSalle Bank was bought out two years later. 

• Two of the most recognizable downtown government buildings once went by far more mundane names. The Richard J. Daley Center courthouse and office building was called the Civic Center when it was completed in 1965, but was renamed after the senior Mayor Daley's death in 1976. Meanwhile, the James R. Thompson Center opened in 1985 as the State of Illinois Center, but was renamed in 1993 to honor former Gov. Thompson.

• The name of the diamond-peaked building at 150 N. Michigan Ave. may not be well-known to Chicagoans to begin with, but it has changed twice since the building opened in 1983. It was originally called the Associates Center, then the Stone Container Building, before taking its current name of the Smurfit-Stone Building. 

• A few buildings' names have been changed and changed back. The Palmolive Building opened in 1929 at 919 N. Michigan Ave., toward the north end of the Magnificent Mile, and was renamed the Playboy Building in 1965 when the Playboy Magazine Empire's corporate headquarters moved in. When Playboy left in 1989, the tower went back to being called the Palmolive Building and was later redeveloped for condos. 

• One building in Streeterville has changed not only names, but addresses too. After leaving the Palmolive Building, Playboy moved into the ornate building at 680 N. Lake Shore Dr., known in the skyline for the blue pyramid at its peak. That building has gone through several name changes; it opened in 1926 as the American Furniture Mart, then became Lake Shore Place. It is now known by its address, although it is informally called the New Playboy Building. The address of the building was also changed in 1988 – it used to be 666 N. Lake Shore Dr. 

• There are some venues where fights to keep historic names have been successful. When the Bears and the City of Chicago announced plans to renovate Soldier Field in 2001, a possible name change was also floated. The idea was scrapped after soldiers were sent to fight the War on Terror following the Sept. 11 attacks, and the city promised that "the historic name of 'Soldier Field' would always remain a part of a new stadium's name."

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Editor's Picks

• Gay Celebrities
• Did You Know? Stars From Chicago!
• Celebs Who Lean To The Right
• Real Or Fake?