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118-656: 350 North Orleans (formerly known as River North Point ) is the official name of the 24-floor multipurpose building located in the River North community area of Chicago, at the intersection of the North Branch and the Main Branch of the Chicago River . It was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill . In 1988, Helmut Jahn designed an enclosed pedestrian walking bridge over Orleans Street connecting

236-527: A holding company . In 1991, Blackstone created its Europe unit and launched its real estate investment business with the acquisition of a series of hotel businesses under the leadership of Henry Silverman . In October 1991, Blackstone and Silverman added Days Inns of America for $ 250 million. In 1993, Hospitality Franchise Systems acquired Super 8 Motels for $ 125 million. Silverman would ultimately leave Blackstone to serve as CEO of HFS, which later became Cendant Corporation . Blackstone made

354-522: A $ 1.1 billion real estate investment fund. Also in 1997, Blackstone made its first investment in Allied Waste . In 1998, Blackstone sold a 7% interest in its management company to AIG , valuing Blackstone at $ 2.1 billion. In 1999, Blackstone partnered with Apollo Management to provide capital for Allied Waste's acquisition of Browning-Ferris Industries . Blackstone's investment in Allied

472-508: A $ 3.5 million fee. From the outset in 1985, Schwarzman and Peterson planned to enter the private equity business but had difficulty in raising their first fund because neither had ever led a leveraged buyout. Blackstone finalized fundraising for its first private equity fund in the aftermath of Black Monday , the October 1987 global stock market crash. After two years of providing strictly advisory services, Blackstone decided to pursue

590-480: A boom of Near North Side hotel constructions. The adjacent parking lot has approximately 450 parking spaces. The grand opening ceremony on January 22, 1977 was attended by the Kennedy family, as well as Chicago Mayor Michael Bilandic . The grand opening celebration included a fashion show attended by 1,200 people. The Kennedy-Vornado transaction occurred during an urban commercial real estate recovery that also saw

708-695: A cell phone operator in the Rocky Mountain states (CommNet Cellular) were among the most successful of the era, generating $ 1.5 billion of profits for Blackstone's funds. Blackstone Real Estate Advisers, its real estate affiliate, bought the Watergate complex in Washington D.C. in July 1998 for $ 39 million and sold it to Monument Realty in August 2004. In October 2000, Blackstone acquired

826-585: A critique was raised regarding a purchase agreement on several hundred apartments in Frederiksberg , Denmark, between Blackstone's Danish partner North 360 and Frederiksberg Boligfond, a nonprofit housing organization Frederiksberg Municipality established in 1930. After resistance by residents and questions about the purchase agreement's legality, Blackstone withdrew from it in October 2019. On December 1, 2022, Blackstone restricted withdrawals from its $ 125 billion real estate investment fund BREIT due to

944-631: A few days near the mouth of the river, then moved on to the Chicago River– Des Plaines River portage , where he stayed through the winter of 1674–75. The Fox Wars effectively closed the Chicago area to Europeans in the first part of the 18th century. The first non-native to re-settle in the area may have been a trader named Guillory, who might have had a trading post near Wolf Point on the Chicago River in around 1778. In 1823

1062-556: A flat plain, historically a wetland, near Park City, Illinois to the west of the city of Waukegan . It then flows southward, paralleling the shore of Lake Michigan, through wetlands, the Greenbelt Forest Preserve and a number of golf courses towards Highland Park, Illinois . South of Highland Park the river passes the Chicago Botanic Gardens and through an area of former marshlands known as

1180-408: A government expedition used the name Gary River (phonetic spelling of Guillory ) to refer to the north branch of the Chicago River. Jean Baptiste Point du Sable is widely regarded as the first permanent resident of Chicago; he built a farm on the northern bank at the mouth of the river in the 1780s. The earliest known record of Pointe du Sable living in Chicago is the diary of Hugh Heward, who made

1298-553: A journey through Illinois in the spring of 1790. Antoine Ouilmette claimed to have arrived in Chicago shortly after this in July 1790. In 1795, in a then minor part of the Treaty of Greenville , an Indian confederation granted treaty rights to the United States, to a parcel of land at the mouth of the "Chicago River". This was followed by the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis and Treaty of Chicago , which ceded additional land in

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1416-589: A majority interest in Columbia House , a music-buying club, in mid-2002. Blackstone made a significant investment in Financial Guaranty Insurance Company (FGIC), a monoline bond insurer alongside PMI Group , The Cypress Group and CIVC Partners . FGIC incurred heavy losses, along with other bond insurers in the 2008 credit crisis. Two years later, in 2005, Blackstone was one of seven private equity firms involved in

1534-583: A managing director of Lehman Brothers to join Peterson and Schwarzman at Blackstone in 1987, but left in 1992 to join the Clinton Administration as Deputy Treasury Secretary and later founded advisory investment bank Evercore Partners in 1995. Blackstone was originally formed as a mergers and acquisitions advisory boutique. It advised on the 1987 merger of investment banks E. F. Hutton & Co. and Shearson Lehman Brothers, collecting

1652-481: A merchant banking model after its founders determined that many situations required an investment partner rather than just an advisor. The largest investors in the first fund included Prudential Insurance Company , Nikko Securities and the General Motors pension fund. Blackstone also ventured into other businesses, most notably investment management. In 1987 Blackstone entered into a 50–50 partnership with

1770-531: A natural resource." The southwest bridgehouse of the DuSable Bridge (Michigan Avenue) serves as a museum on the river, its history, its challenges, and its renaissance. The McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum is a 5-floor, 1,613-square-foot (149.9 m ) museum that opened on June 10, 2006; it is named for Robert R. McCormick , formerly owner of the Chicago Tribune and president of

1888-467: A new fund as an independent entity backed by Blackstone. While Blackstone was active on the corporate investment side, it was also busy pursuing real estate investments. Blackstone acquired Prime Hospitality and Extended Stay America in 2004. Blackstone followed these investments with the acquisition of La Quinta Inns & Suites in 2005. Blackstone's largest transaction, the $ 26 billion buyout of Hilton Hotels Corporation , occurred in 2007 under

2006-537: A number of notable investments in the early and mid-1990s, including Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company (1991), Six Flags (1991), US Radio (1994), Centerplate (1995), MEGA Brands (1996). Also, in 1996, Blackstone partnered with the Loewen Group , the second-largest funeral home and cemetery operator in North America, to acquire funeral home and cemetery businesses. The partnership's first acquisition

2124-431: A resurgence in the retail asset class. The properties, which house tenants such as Patagonia and Amiri, were purchased with the strategy of increasing revenue by bringing below-market leases up to current rates. The deal included buildings at 61 Crosby Street, 72-76 Greene Street, 465 Broadway, and 415 West Broadway, demonstrating Blackstone's continued interest in prime urban retail locations. In 1990, Blackstone created

2242-574: A surge in redemption requests from investors. The move caused investor consternation and limited the ability to attract new capital for BREIT. In November 2024, Blackstone made a significant move in Manhattan 's retail real estate market by acquiring a group of four retail buildings in Soho for approximately $ 200 million from ASB Real Estate Investments. This transaction marked the largest Manhattan retail deal by an investor in over three years, signaling

2360-464: Is German for "black"; "Peter", "Petros", or "Petra" (Πέτρος and πετρα, the masculine and feminine rendering of the word, respectively) means "stone" or "rock" in Greek. The two founders had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers . There, Schwarzman served as head of global mergers and acquisitions business. Prominent investment banker Roger C. Altman , another Lehman veteran, left his position as

2478-519: Is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City . It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman , who had previously worked together at Lehman Brothers . Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate business has actively acquired commercial real estate across

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2596-577: Is joined by a tributary, the South Fork of the river, which is commonly given the nickname Bubbly Creek . A bridge used to span the South Fork at this point that was too low for boats to pass meaning that their cargo needed to be unloaded at the bridge, and the neighborhood at its east end became known as Bridgeport . The river continues to the south west, entering the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at Damen Avenue. The original West Fork of

2714-714: Is one of the reasons for Chicago's geographic importance: the related Chicago Portage is a link between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin , and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico . The river is also noteworthy for its natural and human-engineered history. In 1887, the Illinois General Assembly decided to reverse the flow of the Chicago River through civil engineering by taking water from Lake Michigan and discharging it into

2832-469: Is operated by LifeStart on behalf of the building owner. In May 2019 a roof deck opened, also exclusively for building tenants. Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago , including its center (the Chicago Loop ). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it

2950-739: Is sent down the Chicago River, while the rest is used for drinking water. In late 2005, the Chicago-based Alliance for the Great Lakes proposed re-separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to address such ecological concerns as the spread of invasive species . In 1915, the SS Eastland , an excursion steam-liner preparing to leave the dock on the south gangway between the Clark Street Bridge and La Salle Street Bridge, rolled over, killing 844 of

3068-573: The Chicago Cubs rally and parade for their 2016 World Series Championship celebrations, the river was dyed Cubs blue. Friends of the Chicago River executive director Margaret Frisbie told the Chicago Sun-Times , "We do not want to set a precedent where, every time we want to celebrate, we dye the river a different color and potentially hurt the aquatic life that lives in it. While it may seem festive, it's actually potentially harming

3186-488: The Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal . Early settlers named the North Branch of the Chicago River the Guarie River, or Gary's River, after a trader who may have settled the west bank of the river a short distance north of Wolf Point, at what is now Fulton Street. The source of the North Branch is in the northern suburbs of Chicago where its three principal tributaries converge. The Skokie River —or East Fork—rises from

3304-602: The Columbus Drive Bridge and the T. J. O'Brien lock on the Calumet River monitor the diversion of water from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River basin, which is limited to an average of 3,200 cubic feet (91 m ) per second per year over the 40-year period from 1980 to 2020. The main stem flows 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west from the controlling works at Lake Michigan; passing beneath

3422-642: The Cortland Street Drawbridge , which was the first 'Chicago-style' fixed-trunnion bascule bridge built in the United States, and is designated as an ASCE Civil Engineering Landmark and a Chicago Landmark . At North Avenue , south of the North Avenue Bridge , the North Branch divides, the original course of the river makes a curve along the west side of Goose Island , whilst the North Branch Canal cuts off

3540-606: The Illinois River and the Mississippi Valley across the Chicago Portage . This canal was the farthest west, and the last, of a series of United States' government land grant canals. It provided the only water route from New York City to New Orleans through the country's interior and Chicago. During the last ice age, the area that became Chicago was covered by Lake Chicago , which drained south into

3658-719: The NBC Tower , the Tribune Tower , and the Wrigley Building . The river turns slightly to the south west between Michigan Avenue and State Street, passing the Trump International Hotel and Tower , 35 East Wacker , and 330 North Wabash . Turning west again the river passes Marina City , the Reid, Murdoch & Co. Building , and Merchandise Mart , and 333 Wacker Drive . Since the early 2000s,

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3776-738: The Outer Drive , Columbus Drive , Michigan Avenue , Wabash Avenue , State Street , Dearborn Street , Clark Street , La Salle Street , Wells Street , and Franklin Street bridges en route to its confluence with the North Branch at Wolf Point. At McClurg Court it passes the Centennial Fountain , which was built in 1989 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago ; between May and October

3894-655: The Sanitary District of Chicago , then headed by William Boldenweck, completely reversed the flow of the main stem and South Branch of the river using a series of canal locks , increasing the river's flow from Lake Michigan and causing it to empty into the newly completed Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal . In 1999, this system was named a "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Before this time,

4012-804: The Sears Tower change hands at approximately the same time. Kennedy had purchased the property in 1945 or 1946 (depending on the source) from the Marshall Field family. John F. Kennedy, Jr. told a joke about Chicago that included the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center: "In the '40s, my grandfather bought the Merchandise Mart. In the '70s, there was the Apparel Center. And in the '60s election , my family bought 20,000 votes." The Kennedys retained their interest in Wolf Point,

4130-775: The Skokie Lagoons . From the west, the Middle Fork arises near Rondout, Illinois and flows southwards through Lake Forest and Highland Park. The two tributaries of the North and Middle forks merge at the Watersmeet Woods forest preserve west of Wilmette . From there the North Branch flows south towards Morton Grove . The third tributary, the West Fork, rises near Mettawa and flows south through Lincolnshire, Bannockburn , Deerfield , and Northbrook , meeting

4248-460: The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign created a three-dimensional, hydrodynamic simulation of the Chicago River, which suggested that density currents are the cause of an observed bi-directional wintertime flow in the river. At the surface, the river flows east to west, away from Lake Michigan, as expected. But deep below, near the riverbed, water seasonally travels west to east, toward

4366-1206: The 2022 ranking, it regained the top spot in 2023, and retained it in 2024. The firm invests through minority investments, corporate partnerships, and industry consolidations , and occasionally start-up investments . The firm focuses on friendly investments in large capitalization companies . Blackstone has primarily relied on private equity funds , pools of committed capital from pension funds , insurance companies , endowments, fund of funds , high-net-worth individuals , sovereign wealth funds , and other institutional investors . From 1987 to its IPO in 2007, Blackstone invested approximately $ 20 billion in 109 private equity transactions. Blackstone's most notable investments include Allied Waste , AlliedBarton Security Services, Graham Packaging, Celanese , Nalco , HealthMarkets , Houghton Mifflin , American Axle , TRW Automotive , Catalent Pharma Solutions , Prime Hospitality, Legoland , Madame Tussauds , Luxury Resorts (LXR), Pinnacle Foods , Hilton Hotels Corporation , Motel 6, Apria Healthcare, Travelport, The Weather Channel (United States) and The PortAventura Resort . In 2009, Blackstone purchased Busch Entertainment (comprising

4484-466: The 4 acres (16,000 m) of land between Apparel Center and the Chicago River to the south of the building with an address of 340 North Orleans. There have been numerous plans to develop the property dating back to the late 1980s. In 2007, the Kennedys planned to develop the property with three high-rises and skyscrapers according to Cesar Pelli designs. The Wolf Point land is considered to have been

4602-667: The Chicago Apparel Center, the Merchandise Mart ExpoCenter and Wolf Point . In James Thompson's original 58-block 1830 plat of Chicago, the property upon which the building is situated is represented by what was then designated as "Block 7" and a large portion of "Block 6", both of which are located at the fork of the Chicago River. When the building was constructed, it was the world's largest wholesale buying center, featuring over 1,000 display showrooms representing over 3,000 clothing lines. It

4720-506: The Chicago River converged at Wolf Point to form the main stem, which jogged southward from the present course of the river to avoid a baymouth bar , entering Lake Michigan at about the level of present-day Madison Street . Today, the main stem of the Chicago River flows west from Lake Michigan to Wolf Point, where it converges with the North Branch to flow into the South Branch, where the river's course goes south and west to empty in

4838-443: The Chicago River has 38 movable bridges spanning it, down from a peak of 52 bridges. These bridges are of several different types, including trunnion bascule , Scherzer rolling lift , swing bridges , and vertical-lift bridges . The Chicago River has been highly affected by industrial and residential development with attendant changes to the quality of the water and riverbanks. Several species of freshwater fish are known to inhabit

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4956-479: The Chicago River is dyed green in observance of St. Patrick's Day . The actual event occurs on the Saturday on or before March 17. The tradition of dyeing the river green arose by accident in 1961 when plumbers used fluorescein dye to trace sources of illegal pollution discharges. The dyeing of the river is still sponsored by the local plumbers union. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disallowed

5074-587: The Chicago River remains a very popular target for freshwater recreational fishing. In 2006, the Chicago Park District started the annual "Mayor Daley's Chicago River Fishing Festival", which has increased in popularity with each year. Between 2013 and 2016, the Chicago Park District opened four boat houses, two on the south branch and two on the north, for river recreation. As part of a more than fifty-year-old Chicago tradition,

5192-456: The Chicago River was known by many local residents of Chicago as "the stinking river" because of the massive amounts of sewage and pollution that poured into the river from Chicago's booming industrial economy. Through the 1980s, the river was quite dirty and often filled with garbage ; however, during the 1990s, it underwent extensive cleaning as part of an effort at beautification by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley . In 2005, researchers at

5310-631: The Chicago Sanitary District. The Robert R. McCormick Foundation was the major donor that helped meet the $ 950,000 cost to open the museum. It is run by the Friends of the Chicago River, a non-profit environmental organization. Visitors are also allowed to access the bridge's gear room; during the spring and fall bridge lifting visitors can see the bridge gears in operation as the leaves are raised and lowered. Due to its small size and tight access stairway only 79 people are allowed inside

5428-404: The Chicago area. In 1803, Fort Dearborn was constructed on the bank opposite what had been Point du Sable's settlement, on the site of the present-day Michigan Avenue Bridge . Lieutenant James Strode Swearingen, who led the troops from Detroit to Chicago to establish the fort, described the river as being about 30 yards (27 m) wide and upwards of 18 feet (5.5 m) deep at the place where

5546-547: The Millennium" by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The river is represented on the Municipal Flag of Chicago by two horizontal blue stripes. Its three branches serve as the inspiration for the Municipal Device , a three-branched, Y-shaped symbol that is found on many buildings and other structures throughout Chicago. When it followed its natural course, the North and South Branches of

5664-479: The Mississippi River watershed, partly in response to concerns created by an extreme weather event in 1885 that threatened the city's water supply. In 1889, the state created the Chicago Sanitary District (now the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District ) to replace the Illinois and Michigan Canal with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal , a much larger waterway, because the former had become inadequate to serve

5782-549: The Mississippi Valley. As the ice and water retreated, a short 12-to-14-foot (3.7 to 4.3 m) ridge was exposed about a mile inland, which generally separated the Great Lakes' watershed from the Mississippi Valley, except in times of heavy precipitation or when winter ice flows prevented drainage. By the time Europeans arrived, the Chicago River flowed sluggishly into Lake Michigan from Chicago's flat plain. As Chicago grew, this allowed sewage and other pollution into

5900-535: The Native American name for ramps ( Allium tricoccum ), a type of edible wild leek , which grew abundantly near the river. The river, and its region, were named after the plant. Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette , though probably not the first Europeans to visit the area, are the first recorded to have visited the Chicago River in 1673, when they wrote of their discovery of the geographically vital Chicago Portage . Marquette returned in 1674, camped

6018-678: The North Branch at Morton Grove. In recognition of the work of Ralph Frese in promoting canoeing on and conservation of Chicago-area rivers, the forest preserve district of Cook County, Illinois has designated a section of the East Fork and North Branch from Willow Road in Northfield to Dempster Street in Morton Grove the Ralph Frese River Trail . The North Branch continues southwards through Niles , entering

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6136-553: The North Branch flows through mostly residential neighborhoods in a man-made channel that was dug to straighten and deepen the river, helping it to carry the additional flow from the North Shore Channel. South of Belmont the North Branch is lined with a mixture of residential developments, retail parks, and industry until it reaches the industrial area known as the Clybourn Corridor. Here it passes beneath

6254-573: The Sea World Parks, Busch Garden Parks and the two water parks). In 2020 it acquired Ancestry.com . In 2012, Blackstone acquired a controlling interest in Utah-based Vivint, Inc. , a home automation, security, and energy company. Blackstone's most notable real estate investments have included QTS , EQ Office , Hilton Worldwide , Trizec Properties , Center Parcs UK , La Quinta Inns & Suites , Motel 6 , Wyndham Worldwide , Southern Cross Healthcare and Vicinity Centres . The purchase and subsequent IPO of Southern Cross led to controversy in

6372-402: The Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC . As part of the agreement, GIC secured a 35% stake in HIP, with the deal establishing a valuation exceeding €4 billion for the company. In December 2023, Blackstone announced its intention to divest its entire 23.59% stake, valued at $ 833 million, in Embassy Office Parks , India's largest real estate investment trust. The decision came four years after

6490-401: The South Branch, which before 1935 led towards Mud Lake and the Chicago Portage , has been filled in; a triangular intrusion into the north bank at Damen Avenue marks the place where it diverged from the course of the canal. From there, the water flows down the canal through the southwest side of Chicago and southwestern suburbs and, in time, into the Des Plaines River between Crest Hill on

6608-415: The UK. Part of the purchase involved splitting the business into a property company, NHP, and a nursing home business, which Blackstone claimed would become "the leading company in the elderly care market". In May 2011, Southern Cross, now independent, was almost bankrupt, jeopardizing 31,000 elderly residents in 750 care homes. It denied blame, although Blackstone was widely accused in the media for selling on

6726-422: The US Army Corps in January 2013 revealed that both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron had reached their "lowest ebb since record keeping began in 1918, and the lakes could set additional records over the next few months, the corps said. The lakes were 74 centimetres (29 inches) below their long-term average and had declined 43 centimetres (17 inches) since January 2012". The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc.

6844-435: The acquisition was terminated in November 2010. In May 2023, Blackstone entered into an agreement to divest its stake in IBS Software, a Kerala-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider. The transaction, valued at $ 450 million, involved the sale of Blackstone's stake to the global private equity firm Apax . In October 2023, Blackstone divested its stake in the Spanish hotel conglomerate Hotel Investment Partners (HIP) to

6962-450: The adverse conditions of the early 2000s recession . At the end of 2002, Blackstone, together with Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital , acquired Houghton Mifflin Company for $ 1.28 billion. The transaction represented one of the first large club deals completed since the collapse of the Dot-com bubble . In 2002, Hamilton E. James joined Blackstone, where he serves as president and chief operating officer. He also serves on

7080-438: The bend, forming the island. The North Branch Canal—or Ogden's Canal—was completed in 1857, and was originally 50 feet (15 m) wide and 10 feet (3.0 m) deep allowing craft navigating the river to avoid the bend. The 1902 Cherry Avenue Bridge , just south of North Avenue, was constructed to carry the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway onto Goose Island. It is a rare example of an asymmetric bob-tail swing bridge and

7198-529: The building in 2012 and subsequently sold to The Blackstone Group in 2015. The building is associated with the neighboring Merchandise Mart to its east, which it is connected to by way of an enclosed pedestrian walkway and the two buildings are sometimes jointly referred to as the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center or Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center Annex. The building is one of four distinct properties that are known as Chicago's Mart Center complex, also known as World Trade Center Chicago: The Merchandise Mart,

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7316-418: The building to Merchandise Mart . Originally built to serve as the world's largest wholesale buying center for the clothing industry , the building has more commonly known by several other names including River North Point, The Apparel Mart , and the Chicago Apparel Center . The building opened on November 6, 1976. The property was formerly owned by Marshall Field who sold it to Joseph P. Kennedy and

7434-442: The building was converted to 100% commercial office. The existing Tenant base is primarily marketing firms and commodity trading firms. The largest tenants include Brookfield Properties (formerly GGP), WPP plc ( Ogilvy (agency) and Ronin Capital. Tenant list: Former tenants: The building was constructed with no windows above the 3rd floor and below the 13th floor (the Hotel was constructed with windows for obvious reasons). In

7552-459: The building's grand opening was attended by the entire Kennedy family . The family owned the land upon which the building was constructed for over 50 years. After the building was constructed in 1976, it remained in the family for over 20 years, but was sold to Vornado Realty Trust in 1998 as part of a larger $ 625 million ($ 1,168.3 million today) transaction including Merchandise Mart and several other properties. Shorenstein Realty Services purchased

7670-421: The business grew, Japanese bank Nikko Securities acquired a 20% interest in Blackstone for a $ 100 million investment in 1988 (valuing the firm at $ 500 million). Nikko's investment allowed for a major expansion of the firm and its investment activities. The growth firm also recruited politician and investment banker David Stockman from Salomon Brothers in 1988. Stockman led many key deals in his time at

7788-402: The buyout boom period. Other notable investments that Blackstone completed in 2008 and 2009 included AlliedBarton , Performance Food Group, Apria Healthcare, and CMS Computers . In July 2008, Blackstone, NBC Universal, and Bain Capital acquired The Weather Channel from Landmark Communications for $ 3.5 billion. In 2015, the digital assets were sold to IBM for $ 2 billion. In 2018,

7906-412: The buyout of SunGard in a transaction valued at $ 11.3 billion. Blackstone's partners in the acquisition were Silver Lake Partners , Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts , Providence Equity Partners , and TPG Capital . This represented the largest leveraged buyout completed since the takeover of RJR Nabisco at the end of the 1980s leveraged buyout boom. Also, at

8024-406: The city of Chicago near the intersection of Milwaukee Avenue and Devon Avenue , from where it serves as the boundary of the Forest Glen community area with Norwood Park and Jefferson Park . This stretch of the river meanders in a south-easterly direction, passing through golf courses and forest preserves until it reaches Foster Avenue , where it passes through residential neighborhoods on

8142-417: The city's increasing sewage and commercial navigation needs. Completed by 1900, the project reversed the flow of the main stem and South Branch and altered the flow of the North Branch by using a series of canal locks and pumping stations, increasing the flow from Lake Michigan into the river, causing the river to empty into the new canal instead. In 1999, the system was named a "Civil Engineering Monument of

8260-412: The clean-water source for the city, contributing to several public health problems, like typhoid fever . Starting in 1848, much of the Chicago River's flow was also diverted across the Chicago Portage into the Illinois and Michigan Canal . In 1871, the old canal was deepened in an attempt to completely reverse the river's flow but the reversal of the river only lasted one season. Finally, in 1900,

8378-528: The company with an unsustainable business model and crippled with an impossible sale and leaseback strategy. After the 2007–2010 subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, Blackstone Group LP bought more than $ 5.5 billion worth of single-family homes to rent, and then be sold when the prices rise. In 2014, Blackstone sold Northern California office buildings for $ 3.5 billion. The buildings sold in San Francisco and Silicon Valley included 26 office buildings and two development parcels. In 2018,

8496-416: The damage of the storm event. The same report noted that the low Great Lakes levels were drought-induced, caused by a very hot, dry summer and a lack of a solid snowpack in the winter of 2012. At the time of the report, December 2012, Lake Michigan-Huron was 28 inches below its long-term average which is near the record lows of 1964. Historic lake levels for Lake Michigan reported from 1918 to 1998 show that

8614-707: The downtown Loop community area. Notable buildings that line this stretch of the river include the Boeing Company World Headquarters, the Civic Opera House , the Chicago Mercantile Exchange , Union Station and Willis Tower . The river continues southwards past railroad yards and the St. Charles Air Line Bridge . Between Polk and 18th Streets the river originally made a meander to the east; between 1927 and 1929

8732-580: The firm but had a mixed record with his investments. He left Blackstone in 1999 to start his own private equity firm, Heartland Industrial Partners , based in Greenwich, Connecticut . The firm advised CBS Corporation on its 1988 sale of CBS Records to Sony to form what would become Sony Music Entertainment . In June 1989, Blackstone acquired freight railroad operator CNW Corporation . That same year, Blackstone partnered with Salomon Brothers to raise $ 600 million to acquire distressed thrifts in

8850-428: The firm's executive and management committees, and its board of directors. In late 2002, Blackstone acquired TRW Automotive in a $ 4.7 billion buyout, the largest private equity deal announced that year (the deal was completed in early 2003). TRW 's parent was acquired by Northrop Grumman , while Blackstone purchased its automotive parts business, a major supplier of automotive systems. Blackstone also purchased

8968-523: The focal point of the earliest settlements in Chicago at the beginning of the 19th century. In May 2015 The Blackstone Group purchased 350 North Orleans for $ 390 million from San Francisco-based owner Shorenstein Properties. Shorenstein had purchased the property in January 2012 for $ 228 million and invested an estimated $ 70 million in it. In 2012 the last of the apparel showroom Tenants vacated and

9086-535: The fort was intended to be built; the riverbanks were 8 feet (2.4 m) high on the south side and 6 feet (1.8 m) on the north. Between 1816 and 1828 soldiers from Fort Dearborn cut channels through the sandbar at the mouth of the river to allow yawls to bring supplies to the fort. These channels rapidly clogged with sand requiring a new one to be cut. On March 2, 1833, $ 25,000 was appropriated by Congress for harbor works, and work began in June of that year under

9204-522: The founders of BlackRock , Larry Fink (current CEO of BlackRock), and Ralph Schlosstein (CEO of Evercore ). The two founders, who had previously run the mortgage-backed securities divisions at First Boston and Lehman Brothers, respectively, initially joined Blackstone to manage an investment fund and provide advice to financial institutions. They also planned to use a Blackstone fund to invest in financial institutions and help build an asset management business specializing in fixed income investments. As

9322-547: The fountain sends an arc of water over the river for ten minutes every hour. On the north bank of the river, near the Chicago Landmark Michigan Avenue Bridge, is Pioneer Court , which marks the site of the homestead of Jean Baptiste Point du Sable who is recognized as the founder of Chicago. On the south bank of the river is the site of Fort Dearborn , an army fort, first established in 1803. Notable buildings surrounding this area include

9440-518: The globe. Blackstone is also active in credit, infrastructure, hedge funds , secondaries, growth equity, and insurance solutions. As of May 2024, Blackstone has more than US$ 1 trillion in total assets under management , making it the world's largest alternative investment firm. Blackstone was founded in 1985 by Peter G. Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman with US$ 400,000 (equivalent to $ 1.1   million in 2023) in seed capital . The founders derived their firm's name from their names: "Schwarz"

9558-455: The initial listing of the REIT, as revealed in a term sheet disclosed by Reuters . Blackstone operates through four primary departments: private equity ; real estate ; hedge funds ; and credit . As of 2019 , Blackstone was the world's largest private equity firm by capital commitments as ranked by Private Equity International 's PEI 300 ranking. After dropping to second behind KKR in

9676-555: The lake and river for longer periods of time, limiting navigation. A reversal flow of the Chicago River into Lake Michigan would have a negative impact on navigation and on the quality of Lake Michigan water, which is the source of drinking water. Chicago's raw sewage in the river is normally carried upstream toward the Mississippi River which flows south towards the Gulf of Mexico. On January 9, 2013, Chicago meteorologists announced 320 days without at least one inch of snowfall. Water levels in

9794-595: The lake started to level off with the river and sewage was visible at the cusp of the locks, just a few hundred feet from Lake Michigan. David St. Pierre, executive director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago warned the low lake levels were nearing a point of real concern. However, the District maintains that it is not possible for the river to reverse due to low lake level alone. Measurements taken by

9912-499: The lake. All outflows from the Great Lakes Basin are regulated by the joint U.S.-Canadian Great Lakes Commission , and the outflow through the Chicago River is set under a U.S. Supreme Court decision (1967, modified 1980 and 1997). The city of Chicago is allowed to remove 3,200 cubic feet per second (91 m /s) of water from the Great Lakes system; about half of this, 1 billion US gallons per day (44 m /s),

10030-449: The low levels observed in 1964 were the lowest since 1918. In 2012 Lake Michigan-Huron's seasonal rise was about 4 inches where it usually is about 12 inches. Normally the Chicago River water level is two feet lower than the lake and therefore does not flow into the lake. If the lake level falls too low threatening to reverse the river flow, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago would be forced to close locks between

10148-548: The marshy area called Mud Lake to flow to where it met the North Branch at Wolf Point forming the main branch. Since reversal, the source of the South Branch of the Chicago River is the confluence of the North Branch and main stem at Wolf Point. From here the river flows south passing the Lake Street, Randolph Street, Washington Street, Madison Street, Monroe Street, Adams Street, Jackson Boulevard, Van Buren Street, Ida B. Wells Drive, and Harrison Street bridges before leaving

10266-415: The mid-1990s as commercial office Tenants began to occupy the building, the building owners began replacing the original concrete pre-cast panels with windows. The current owner has had windows installed on 3 full floors and replaced partial height windows with full height windows on many of the floors that had already had windows installed. As of February 2018, there are only two elevations on the 8th floor of

10384-643: The midst of the savings and loan crisis . In 1990, Blackstone launched its hedge funds business, initially intended to manage investments for Blackstone senior management. That same year, Blackstone formed a partnership with J. O. Hambro Magan in the UK and Indosuez in France. Additionally, Blackstone and Silverman acquired a 65% interest in Prime Motor Inn's Ramada and Howard Johnson franchises for $ 140 million, creating Hospitality Franchise Systems as

10502-406: The more than 2500 passengers. The roll of the heavy steamer happened very quickly and many of the passengers were trapped under water by the hull, moving objects such as pianos and tables, the crush of bodies, or their heavy clothes. Frantic if disordered rescue attempts ensued and early versions of what may be regarded as trauma teams formed to address the shocking scene. The site on the south bank at

10620-498: The mortgage for 7 World Trade Center from the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association . In July 2002, Blackstone completed fundraising for a $ 6.45 billion private equity fund, Blackstone Capital Partners IV, the largest private equity fund at that time. With a significant amount of capital in its new fund, Blackstone was one of a handful of private equity investors capable of completing large transactions in

10738-749: The museum at any one time. In October 2019, Chicago Tribune cultural arts writer Steve Johnson profiled the museum, calling its gear room where the DuSable Bridge mechanics can be viewed "a little chamber of heaven for infrastructure nerds". The US Army Corps of Engineers have monitored the development of harbors and channels for navigation on the Great Lakes since the early 1800s. They began monitoring hydrological conditions and lake levels in 1918. A December 26, 2012 report revealed that Chicago District navigation infrastructure did receive significant impacts from Hurricane Sandy with some areas experiencing severe shoaling. Chicago Shoreline Project mitigated

10856-540: The north side of the Albany Park community area. In River Park the river meets the North Shore Channel , a canal with water pumped from Lake Michigan (at Wilmette ), built between 1907 and 1910 to increase the flow of the North Branch and help flush it into the South Branch and from there to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal . From the confluence with the North Shore Channel south to Belmont Avenue

10974-482: The north tower that are in need of window installation. In 2018, the entire facade (from the 3rd floor upwards) was refinished and the original brown aggregate was painted, significantly improving its image. In addition, the building owner redeveloped the existing conference facility and created a Tenant Lounge known as River Room which contains a Tenant exclusive conference facility and approximately 9,000 square feet of high end lounge space for Tenants to meet outside of

11092-413: The office in a more casual setting. River Room has expansive views of the Chicago River and an adjacent bar / eatery is currently under construction. In May 2018 a high end fitness facility known as Studio350 was constructed in 10,000 square feet of vacant space on the 1st floor. The facility is exclusive to 350 North Orleans tenants and offers a full range of classes (yoga, spinning, strength training) and

11210-655: The possibility of creating a business development company (BDC), Blackridge Investments, similar to vehicles pursued by Apollo Management. Blackstone failed to raise capital through an initial public offering that summer and the project were shelved. It also planned to raise a fund on the Amsterdam stock exchange in 2006, but its rival, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., launched a $ 5 billion fund there that soaked up all demand for such funds, and Blackstone abandoned its project. In 2007, Blackstone acquired Alliant Insurance Services, an insurance brokerage firm. The company

11328-536: The practice "gives the impression that it is lifeless and artificial", adding "Friends doesn't think that the river should be treated as a decoration for an annual holiday, but treasured and cared for as the wonderful natural and recreational resource it deserves to be". In 2009 First Lady Michelle Obama , a Chicago native, inspired by the river tradition, requested that the water in the White House fountains be dyed green to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. For

11446-617: The remainder of the company was sold to Byron Allen for $ 300 million. In December 2009, Blackstone acquired Busch Entertainment Corporation from Anheuser-Busch InBev for $ 2.9 billion. In November 2013, Merlin Entertainments, owned in part by Blackstone Group, became a public company via an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange . In August 2010, Blackstone announced it would buy Dynegy , an energy firm, for nearly $ 5 billion, but

11564-539: The river and Lake Michigan through the Chicago Harbor Lock . The surface level of the river is maintained at 0.5 to 2 feet (0.15 to 0.61 m) below the Chicago City Datum (579.48 feet [176.63 m] above mean sea level) except for when there is excessive storm run-off into the river or when the level of the lake is more than 2 feet below the Chicago City Datum. Acoustic velocity meters at

11682-462: The river due to PCB and mercury contamination, including a "do not eat" advisory for carp more than 12 inches long. There are concerns that silver carp and bighead carp , now invasive species in the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers , may reach the Great Lakes through the Chicago River. A program on the north channel next to Goose Island seeks to increase wildlife habitat through

11800-646: The river was straightened and moved 1 ⁄ 4 mile (0.40 km) west at this point to make room for a railroad terminal. The river turns to the southwest at Ping Tom Memorial Park where it passes under the Chicago Landmark Canal Street railroad bridge . The river turns westward where it is crossed by the Dan Ryan Expressway ; these immovable bridges have a clearance of 60 feet (18 m) requiring large ships that pass underneath to have folding masts. At Ashland Avenue

11918-530: The river widens to form the U.S. Turning Basin, the west bank of which was the starting point of the Illinois and Michigan Canal . Prior to 1983, this was where the US Coast Guard Rules of the Road, Great Lakes ended & Rules of the Road, Western Rivers began. Since 1983, there is just a single Inland Navigational Rules passed by Congressional Act in 1980 (Public Law 96-591). At the basin the river

12036-538: The river, including largemouth and smallmouth bass , rock bass , crappie , bluegill , catfish , and carp . The river also has a large population of crayfish . The South Fork of the Main (South) Branch, which was the primary sewer for the Union Stock Yards and the meat packing industry , was once so polluted that it became known as Bubbly Creek . Illinois has issued advisories regarding eating fish from

12154-405: The sandbar was 200 feet (61 m) wide and 3 to 7 feet (0.91 to 2.13 m) deep, flanked by piers 200 feet (61 m) long on the south wall and 700 feet (210 m) long to the north. Allen's work continued, and by October 1837 the still unfinished piers had been extended to 1,850 and 1,200 feet (560 and 370 m) respectively. In 1848, the Illinois and Michigan canal linked the river to

12272-555: The south shore of the main stem has been developed as the Chicago Riverwalk . It provides a linear, lushly landscaped park intended to offer a peaceful escape from the busy Loop and a tourist attraction. Different sections are named Market, Civic, Arcade, and Confluence. The plans reflect ideas first proposed by the Burnham Plan as early as 1909. Before reversal, the South Branch generally arose with joining forks in

12390-640: The southeast end of the La Salle Street Bridge is now the location of a memorial first dedicated in 1989. On April 13, 1992, a flood occurred when a pile driven into the riverbed caused stress fractures in the wall of a long-abandoned tunnel of the Chicago Tunnel Company near the Kinzie Street railroad bridge . Most of the 60-mile (97 km) network of underground freight railway, which encompasses much of downtown,

12508-432: The supervision of Major George Bender, the commandant at Fort Dearborn. In January 1834 James Allen took over the supervision of this work and, aided by a February storm that breached the sandbar, on July 12, 1834, the harbor works had progressed enough to allow a 100-short-ton (91 t) schooner, the Illinois to sail up the river to Wolf Point and dock at the wharf of Newberry & Dole. The initial entrance through

12626-497: The tenure of Hilton CFO Stephen Bollenbach . Extended Stay Hotels was sold to The Lightstone Group in July 2007 and Prime Hospitality's Wellesley Inns were folded into La Quinta. La Quinta Inns & Suites was spun out for IPO in 2014 and later acquired by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts . During the buyout boom of 2006 and 2007, Blackstone completed some of the largest leveraged buyouts. Its most notable transactions during this period included: In 2004, Blackstone had explored

12744-762: The time of its announcement, SunGard was the largest buyout of a technology company in history, a distinction it ceded to the buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. The SunGard transaction is also notable for the number of firms involved, the largest club deal completed to that point. The involvement of seven firms in the consortium was criticized by investors in private equity who considered crossholdings among firms to be generally unattractive. In 2006, Blackstone launched its long/short equity hedge fund business, Kailix Advisors. According to Blackstone, as of September 30, 2008, Kailix Advisors had $ 1.9 billion of assets under management. In December 2008, Blackstone announced that Kailix would be spun off to its management team to form

12862-534: The use of floating plant islands. The program is managed by the non-profit conservation group Urban Rivers with assistance from the Shedd Aquarium . As with some other bodies of water in the United States, the river has seen several successful efforts to improve water quality since the passage of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and related state and local efforts. Despite the pollution concerns,

12980-411: The use of fluorescein for this purpose, since it was shown to be harmful to the river. The parade committee switched to a mix involving forty pounds of powdered vegetable dye. Though the committee closely guards the exact formula, they insist that it has been tested and verified safe for the environment. The environmental organization Friends of the Chicago River disapproves of dyeing the river, saying

13098-403: The west and Lockport on the east, just north of the border between Crest Hill and Joliet, Illinois , eventually reaching the Gulf of Mexico . The United States Geological Survey monitors water flow at a number of sites in the Chicago River system. Discharge from the North Branch is measured at Grand Avenue; between 2004 and 2010 this averaged 582 cubic feet (16.5 m ) per second. During

13216-499: The winter months as much as 75% of the flow in the North Branch is due to the discharge of treated sewage from the North Side Water Reclamation Plant into the North Shore Channel. Flow on the main stem is measured at Columbus Drive; between 2000 and 2006 this averaged 136 cubic feet (3.9 m ) per second. The name Chicago derives from the 17th century French rendering of shikaakwa or chicagou ,

13334-410: Was Chicago's attempt to replace New York City, where businessmen have to travel to 20 different buildings to see a comparable variety of clothing as the world's fashion center. Its completion bolstered the Merchandise Mart's claim of being the "World's Largest Wholesale Buying Center". The building was completed just as the downtown office space market recovered from the 1973–75 recession and was part of

13452-563: Was a $ 295 million buyout of Prime Succession from GTCR . In 1995, Blackstone sold its stake in BlackRock to PNC Financial Services for $ 250 million. Between 1995 and 2014, PNC reported $ 12 billion in pretax revenues and capital gains from BlackRock. Schwarzman later described the selling of BlackRock as his worst business decision ever. In 1997, Blackstone completed fundraising for its third private equity fund, with approximately $ 4 billion of investor commitments and

13570-492: Was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2007. From Goose Island the North Branch continues to flow south east to Wolf Point where it joins the main stem. Since the late 19th century, the source of the main stem of the Chicago River is Lake Michigan. Water enters the river through sluice gates at the Chicago River Controlling Works with a small additional flow provided for the passage of boats between

13688-441: Was eventually flooded, along with the lower levels of buildings it once serviced and attached underground shops and pedestrian ways. The first bridge across the Chicago River was constructed over the North Branch near the present day Kinzie Street in 1832. A second bridge, over the South Branch near Randolph Street, was added in 1833. The first moveable bridge was constructed across the main stem at Dearborn Street in 1834. Today,

13806-830: Was one of its largest at that point in the firm's history. In 1999, Blackstone launched its mezzanine capital business. It brought in five professionals, led by Howard Gellis from Nomura Holding America's Leveraged Capital Group, to manage the business. Blackstone's investments in the late 1990s included AMF Group (1996), Haynes International (1997), American Axle (1997), Premcor (1997), CommNet Cellular (1998), Graham Packaging (1998), Centennial Communications (1999), Bresnan Communications (1999), and PAETEC Holding Corp. (1999). Haynes and Republic Technologies International both had problems and ultimately filed bankruptcy. Blackstone's investments in telecommunications businesses—four cable TV systems in rural areas (TW Fanch 1 and 2, Bresnan Communications and Intermedia Partners IV) and

13924-513: Was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in 2012. On June 21, 2007, Blackstone became a public company via an initial public offering, selling a 12.3% stake in the company for $ 4.13 billion, in the largest U.S. IPO since 2002. During the 2007–2008 financial crisis , Blackstone closed only a few transactions. In January 2008, Blackstone made a small co-investment alongside TPG Capital and Apollo Management in their buyout of Harrah's Entertainment , although that transaction had been announced during

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