Is This Red, White, and Blue Elephant Worth Saving?

Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel have finally found something they can agree on: selling off the Thompson Center, a state office building in downtown Chicago, to a buyer who will presumably demolish it. Their rare alliance, however, has galvanized the architecture and preservation communities in Chicago, who are prepared to fight tooth and nail to save this pioneering, albeit polarizing, Postmodern icon.

A new short documentary, “Starship Chicago” by Nathan Eddy, serves as both a love letter to this beleaguered building and a call to action for those who think it’s worth saving. The film comes at a time when famous examples of Postmodern architecture like Philip Johnson’s AT&T Building—whose proposed renovation inspired Eddy to post a Change.org petition—are increasingly under threat. The question looming over the Thompson Center, in particular, is whether the wider public, as well as local leaders, believe the architectural and historical value of the building outweighs its material deficiencies, or its apparent economic inviability.