CHICAGO-Tenants of 188 W. Randolph St. had a long weekend out of their offices when they were forced to vacate the 46-story, 331,200-sf West Loop office building, which was ordered closed by a housing court judge after city officials argued falling terra cotta posed a serious and imminent safety hazard. Tenants were out of the building until Sunday evening, when steel canopies were erected on two city blocks bordering the 72-year-old building, located at the northeast corner of Randolph and Wells streets.

While posing a major inconvenience to the building's tenants, it also has created chaos to Downtown traffic flow–auto, pedestrian as well as rapid transit. Elevated rail “El” tracks run overhead on Wells Street, so 188 W. Randolph St.'s structural problems are disrupting train service on three lines. One-block stretches of Randolph and Wells streets are closed to traffic. Meanwhile, traffic already is a mess as a result of the $200-million Wacker Drive reconstruction project beginning two blocks away.

Although some of the building's tenants say the housing court's decision was “overkill,” city officials say it could be a matter of life and death. “We could've done one of two things,” says Department of Buildings Commissioner Mary B. Richardson-Lowry. “We could've waited until someone was seriously hurt or killed, or we could've asked ourselves what do we do to make sure the public is safe.”