April 2019
Walsh Construction builds Hamilton: The Exhibition on Northerly Island
CHICAGO - A new 34,000-square-foot exhibit structure is set to welcome thousands of visitors along Lake Michigan on Chicago's Northerly Island. Standing 47-feet-tall, the building houses Hamilton: The Exhibition, a 360-degree immersive experience that chronicles the history of Alexander Hamilton.
The exhibit features an audio tour throughout 18 rooms narrated by the musical’s author, Lin-Manuel Miranda, along with other cast members from the original Broadway production of Hamilton.
Built by Walsh Construction, the new aluminum structure required mass grading, site excavation, 50 tons of rebar, 1,400 cubic yards of concrete, more than 1,000 prefabricated metal wall panels, inflated and insulated roof components, furnishings as well as the installation of mechanical, electrical, fire protection and plumbing systems.
The structure was erected by building and connecting four truss sections on ground level, and then raising them up to their standing height using two 60-ton cranes. The legs were attached in a folding position to the trusses on the ground, which unfold to vertical when raised. Each singular aluminum truss and leg assembly weighs approximately 5000 pounds. The structure has a total of 37 trusses with cross bracing on every other 2.5-meter bay. The building is engineered to withstand the varying weather conditions on Chicago’s lakefront, including wind speeds up to 120 mph.
Click here more information on Hamilton: The Exhibition.