Apple's New Flagship Store Not Designed To Handle Chicago Winters

CHICAGO, IL — The normally-sleek, elegant new Apple flagship store in downtown Chicago is now surrounded with yellow caution tape and signs warning people to watch for falling snow and ice. Dangerous icicles were seen hanging from the store's roof early Friday, but most have since been cleared. The store normally provides a convenient shortcut down to the riverfront, but the walkways on both sides of the building were blocked off with tape.

When the store first opened in October, Apple representatives said the company worked closely with the city and referenced historical records to design the store. Unfortunately the building's roof—designed to mimic a flat MacBook Pro laptop—doesn't have gutters to collect melting snow.

Many other buildings in Chicago have also had to block off walkways and put out warning signs about ice falling, so the sight isn't unusual, however it runs against Apple's stated goal of "uniting" the city plaza with the riverfront.

According to a post on the Skyscraper forum, the cold has also caused a crack to appear on one of the windows of the store.

When it first opened, Apple called the new flagship location its "newest and most ambitious store." Staffed by 250 employees, the store replaced the former Apple store on Michigan Avenue.

Photos by Amber Fisher