Instant History/Architecture Tour

I wish there was a way to walk down the street, enter the address of a particular building and receive a full rundown of the property, complete with stories, anecdotes and other significant information from its history. (Yes, yes I'm sure there is an iphone app for that, but lets get serious, it would be awesome

I was on my bike this morning and saw this building on the edge of Chicago's River North. It's huge and it's right next to the downtown area. It almost touches the river so you would think that it dealt in water-way commerce at some point. Common to many building of this style there is always a family or company name displayed prominently. I would love to know what happened there. How it contributed to the city's economic growth over the last 150 years. Did the place ever burn down? Were there union riots? Was it a one time gangster hide out?

Today these building often are utilized as loft style condos or hip office buildings. It's a nice way to recycle an old building to reflect the needs of business. We aren't all yarn dealers or textile merchants so turn the old buildings into software developer hubs or consultancy hang outs. But would it hurt to throw a plaque out front that gives me the run down on what the building was built for, when, by whom, and an exciting history of its place in Chicago history?