Chicago skyline guide the top ten · The top ten in Chicago skyline guide
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The top ten in Chicago skyline guide
The top ten in Chicago skyline guide
Sears Tower (Willis Tower), 233 S Wacker Dr. 1451 ft. The Sears Tower remains North America's tallest and the world's second tallest based on height to pinnacle (behind Burj Dubai in Dubai). It was built for Sears, Roebuck, and Company in 1974 by Bruce Graham of Skidmore, Owings, and Merill. The innovative design successfully handled the challenges of air flow and elevator/emergency support for an unprecedented number of people, but the employees at Sears' formerly collegial suburban campus complained that it handled the challenges too well ? they never saw anyone outside their own departments any more! Sears is no longer the building's major tenant, and the corporate naming rights have been whored out to the Willis Group, but a number of other, smaller firms have offices in the building, which also features Chicago's most visited observation deck on the 103rd floor. �
The Trump Tower, 401 N Wabash Ave. 1362 ft. The Trump Hotel and luxury residential building is both the newest member of the Chicago skyline, completed at the beginning 2009, and the tallest after the Sears Tower?indeed, it is the second tallest in the United States, and thirteenth in the world. The Donald intended for it to be the tallest in the world, but decided to scale back to a mere "second tallest in North America" (after the Sears Tower) following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The design features three prominent setbacks at the height of nearby buildings: the Wrigley Building, Marina City, and 330 N Wabash, which, combined with its singularly reflective exterior, allow this supertall to blend into the skyline, almost to the point where you could overlook it. As intended, the building reflects and interacts with the Chicago skyline, rather than imposing itself upon it with its great height. Regardless, you will not likely miss this building, and it's plenty interesting to examine?its asymmetric form ensures that you will see something quite different from any different vantage point. �
Aon Center, 200 E Randolph St. 1136 ft. Originally known as the Standard Oil Building, The Aon Center is America's fourth tallest building from base to roof, after the Empire State Building in New York, and fifteenth tallest in the world by architectural detail. It was built in 1972 by architect Edward Stone and initially was faced with marble, but the windy city began to blow the marble off the sides of the building. The entire building had to be refaced with granite?a costly job at one-half of the entire building costs! It is named after its biggest tenant: the Aon Corporation, a risk management firm. �
John Hancock Center, 875 N Michigan Ave. 1127 ft. The John Hancock Center is the fifth tallest skyscraper in the U.S. and, if you include its very long antennae, the fifth tallest in the world from base to pinnacle. The building was a pioneer of several architectural features designed by Fazlur Khan, a Bangladeshi-American structural engineer. According to the logic of the structural expressionist school, these features are visible and emphasized, lending the building its originality. Most notable is the building's pioneering use of X-bracing?if you don't know what this means, you will when you see it. There is a great view from the Observation Deck on the 94th floor and a fine restaurant on the 95th. Floors 45 through 92 contain more than 700 condominiums. �
AT&T Corporate Center, 227 West Monroe St. 1007 ft. Built by Adrian Smith in 1989, the granite-clad AT&T Corporate Center is one of the city's more distinctive skyscrapers for its massive size, spiked roof pinnacles, and a style evocative of both Gothic and Japanese architectural styles. �
Two Prudential Plaza, 180 N Stetson Ave. 995 ft. This tower was built and connected to the original Prudential One for the Prudential Financial Corporation in 1990. �
311 S Wacker Dr. 961 ft. This is perhaps the tallest building in the world without an official name, although locals know exactly what to call it: The White Castle Building. It is distinctive for its "crown," which is brightly illuminated at night. If you are nearby, head into its lobby to see its enormous indoor garden and fountain. �
900 N Michigan. 871 ft. This skyscraper is a vertical shopping mall on the Magnificent Mile, anchored by Bloomingdales in the back and the Four Seasons Resort between the towers. It's especially visible at night when its four "lanterns" are lit up. �
Water Tower Place, 845 N Michigan Ave. 859 ft. This is the pioneer vertical mall on the Magnificent Mile and is home to the luxurious Ritz-Carlton Hotel, a ton of retailers, and some of Chicago's swankiest apartments. (Oprah's selling her rooftop mansion for around $5.5 million, in case you're interested.) �
Chase Tower, 21 S Clark St. 850 ft. Located at the exact epicenter of CTA's Loop transit system, this building is distinctive for its vertical curve. It has been re-named for each of the successive banks that have bought out its previous tenants ? for example, it was the BankOne Tower until a couple years ago. �
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Chicago skyline guide Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.