The Tallest Buildings in Chicago – Towering Over the Competition

Saad Iqbal | 🗓️Modified: July 15, 2022 | ⏳Time to read:7 min

The city of Chicago has no shortage of unique attractions, but there’s one thing the Windy City does have plenty of—tall buildings. There are so many skyscrapers in Chicago that the entire list of them could probably go on forever, but here’s a list of five of the tallest buildings in Chicago to give you an idea of what it’s like to look up at skyscrapers on a daily basis.

Let’s explore tallest buildings in Chicago

Chicago also known by the name of city of Chicago is the third most populous city after New York and Los Angeles. It is also called windy city. It is located on the shores of freshwater lake Michigan in the US state of Illinois. It was converted to a city in 1837 near a portage between great lakes and Mississippi watershed.

Chicago has been developed a lot in past few years and famous for its urban planning, new construction styles and steel framed skyscrapers. There are large number of tall skyscrapers in Chicago with unique architecture and design.

In this article we will discuss Skyscrapers of Chicago: A Look at the Windy City’s Tallest Buildings.

Towering Over the Competition: The Tallest Buildings in Chicago

Willis Tower

Willis Tower is an office and communication type building located in 233 S. Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois United States. After its completion in 1974 it become tallest building in the world by surpassing World Trade Center in New York at that time. With the passage of time more high-rise skyscrapers were constructed. Willis Tower is tallest building in Chicago with a height of 442m and tip height of 527m. It is the 23^rd tallest in the world at this time. The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and constructed by Morse Diesel International.

The building construction started in 1970 and completed in 1974.This building consists of 108 floors and 3 basement floors. The total floor area of building is 4,477,800 sq ft. There are 104 elevators in this building.

Also Read: Top 10 Tallest Buildings in New York Ranked Right Now

The Trump International Hotel and Tower

As the name depicts The Trump international Hotel and Tower is a skyscraper which is a hotel which is located in downtown Chicago state Illinois. This building is named for Donald Trump, and it was designed by Adrian Smith, Skidmore, Owings and Merril. The constructor of this building is Bovis Lend Lease and developer is The Trump Organization. This building is 2^nd highest building in Chicago with architectural height of 423.2m and roof height of 357m.

The construction of this building started in March 2005 and completed in 2009.This building consists of 98 floors and floor area of this building is 2.6 million square feet. There are 27 elevators in this building for easy access of floors at different heights. The construction cost of this building 847 million dollars.

The Aon Center

The Aon Center is an Office type building which is located in Chicago loop, Chicago, Illinois in United States. It was formerly known by the name of Amoco building. The design of this building is made by architect firms Edward Durell Stone and The Perkins and Will Partnership. The contractor of this building was Turner Construction and developer was Standard Oil of Indiana. It is 3^rd highest building in Chicago with architectural height of 346.3m and tip height of this building is 362.5m.

The building construction begin in 1970 and it was completed in 1973. This building consists of 88 floors of which 83 floors are above ground and 5 floors are below ground level. The floor area of this building is 3,599,968 sq ft. There are 50 elevators installed in this building for easy access of different floors at different heights. The Construction cost of this building is 120 million US dollars.

Also Read: Pros and Cons of Floating Building

John Hancock Center/ 875 North Michigan Avenue

John Hancock Center contains apartments, offices, restaurants and 700 condominiums located at 875 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its name was changed to 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018.But despite this its old name John Hancock center is used for this building. The height of this building is 344m with tip of 457m.This building is 4^th tallest building in Chicago. The building is designed by US designer Bruce Graham and Structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. The building is constructed under the supervision of Skidmore, Owings, Merrill. While the main contractors were Tishman contractors.

The construction of this project started in 1965 and it was completed in 1969.The building consists of 100 floors and floor area of this building is 2,799,973 sq ft. There are 50 lifts installed in this building for access of different floors in less time. The construction cost of this building at that time was 100 million dollars which are today nearly equal to 739 million dollars.

Also Read: Fire hazard in a buildings- Causes- Examples 

The Franklin Center

The Franklin Center is an office type skyscraper building located at 227 West Monroe Street Chicago, Illinois in United States. The design of this building is made by Adrian D. Smith, Skidmore, Owings, and Merril. The building is constructed under supervision of William F. Baker and Skidmore and developed by AT/T Stein & Company. This building is 5^th highest building in Chicago with architectural height of 315 meters and roof height of 271 m.

The construction of this building started in 1981 and completed in 1985. This building is 62 story building with floor area of 1,699,987 sq ft. A number of elevators installed in this building for access of floors at different heights.

The bottom Line

One of the most recognizable city skylines in the world, Chicago’s impressive collection of tall buildings are unique to this city. Many of them have been around for years, such as the Willis Tower (previously known as the Sears Tower) and the John Hancock Center, which were both built in 1973. However, there are also plenty of newer buildings throughout the city’s downtown area that are taller than any others in Chicago—including skyscrapers such as the Trump International Hotel & Tower, 300 North LaSalle Street and 875 North Michigan Avenue, which all exceed 1,000 feet.

Further Read: 11 Basic Components of a Building (Must Know)

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