Illini 411: Is State Farm Center the world’s largest domed structure?
Question courtesy of Kristine McIntosh, ’95 ED
(Photo-illustration by Dana Smith; Images courtesy of Illini Media and U of I Archives) Question courtesy of Kristine McIntosh, ’95 ED
A: It was when the building opened in 1963, and it was a point of pride for architect Max Abramovitz, ’29 FAA. To build its famous concrete roof, crews erected 800,000 square feet of scaffolding, wrapped more than 600 miles of steel wire around its perimeter and encased the wire’s cross sections in 200 cubic yards of grout. And then, voila: It was the global king of domed structures! But alas, its kingdom(e) would be short-lived. The Houston Astrodome would take the No. 1 spot only two years later in 1965.
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