Doorperson of the Month: Patrick Higgins

“Hello, Jeff, how’s it going?” I hear him say as I approach.

Patrick Higgins is a 38-year veteran doorman at Metropolitan Tower. Certainly, this is one reason he knows his tenants by name. But the bigger reason is that he genuinely enjoys his job and interacting with residents. It’s his favorite part of being the longest term employee at Metropolitan Tower.

In 1924 Metropolitan Tower was built as the Strauss Bank Building and became the home base for Encyclopedia Britannica. Thirteen years ago, the building was converted to condominiums with retail shops on the ground level. It boasts a bustling neighborhood, located down the street from The Chicago Art Institute, near the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the center of DePaul University’s downtown campus.

Upon entering the lobby, one can sense the rich history of the building. The lobby is adorned with gold and marble and you can smell chocolate—as a Kilwin’s shop dominates the retail space. I ask Patrick how he works there without indulging in fudge on a daily basis.

“Well at first, I couldn’t afford it,” he said.

Times were lean for Patrick and his young family back in the day. “My wife and I had six children in five years,” he said—which included triplets. Maybe all that responsibility is one of the things that makes Patrick so good at multitasking and handling the myriad of responsibilities presented to him every day.

“Up until about three months ago, I was handling about 100 packages per day. Now we have Amazon lockers, but they’re a little small so we must deal with them.”

Patrick went 20 years without calling in sick. The COVID-19 pandemic caused many residents to leave the building temporarily for other parts of the country. “Things are normalizing now, but we face the challenge of filling up available retail space,” he said.

Patrick grew up in Englewood and now lives in Chicago. He started part-time on the weekends, moved to full-time and now chooses to stay at the Metropolitan Tower instead of retirement.

To nominate your favorite doorperson, email [email protected] with their name and why they should be the doorperson of the month. Winners will receive a $25 gift card to Mariano’s.