Fodor's Expert Review James R. Thompson Center

People either hate or love this former state-government building. Former governor James Thompson, who selected the Helmut Jahn design, hailed it in his 1985 dedication speech as "the first building of the 21st century." For others, it's a case of postmodernism run amok. A bowl-like form topped by a truncated cylinder, the 17-story building's sky-blue-and-salmon color scheme screams 1980s. But the 17-story atrium, where exposed elevators zip up and down and sunlight casts dizzying patterns through the metal-and-glass skin, is one of the most animated interiors anywhere in the city. The state put the building up for sale in 2021; while preservationists are fighting to protect it, the Thompson Center's fate is unclear.