Blackhawks Retail Flagship Renovation

Go Hawks Go! The 2015-2016 season has begun.

October is a highly anticipated time of year for hockey fans, as it marks the start of the 2015-2016 season. Considered one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America, the National Hockey League is most prominent in Canada, and has built an empire of merchandising nation-wide, rivaled only by powerhouses like Disney and Nintendo.

As one of the Original Six NHL hockey teams, the fans love for the Chicago Blackhawks can be felt throughout the year, but especially during hockey season. Loyalty for this team has been passed down through the generations, and it’s not uncommon to see families decked out in matching jerseys on game day. After the Blackhawks raised the Stanley Cup on home ice in June 2015, to celebrate their third title in six years, throngs of overjoyed fans descended upon retail stores to purchase memorabilia.

One such retail location to see a huge influx of fans was the Blackhawks flagship store, in downtown Chicago. It had undergone a major overhaul and relocation following their 2013 Stanley Cup victory, when franchise and retail store owners Wirtz Realty Corp renovated the art deco office tower at Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. The landmark property, which sells Blackhawks jerseys, T-shirts and other paraphernalia, moved from the southern end of the building at 333 N. Michigan Ave. closer to Wacker Drive.

Chicago-based architects Chipman Design chose Goldray for their decorative glass requirements on this renovation project. Updated signage with the Blackhawks logo was installed on the facade facing the Magnificent Mile, to which a backlit panel was added. The warm, even glow behind the glass highlights the iconic Blackhawks logo, and ensures excellent visibility in all lighting conditions.

Technographic Interlayer is ideal for exterior glazing applications, as it has superior UV resistance with crisp, vibrant color saturation. This application offers a high-resolution printed polyester interlayer, that is laminated between two or more glass surfaces.  Virtually all color profiles can be produced on clear, translucent or opaque film creating images ranging from standard text or logos to photorealistic images.

As this was a local project, many of the people involved are Hawks fans. Small-scale duplicates of the installation were made for members of the crew, who then mounted the glass in their “man caves” at home. This peer recognition of Goldray’s products means as much to us as any industry award.