The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

in 1871 (an exception being the

Water Tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towers often operate in conju ...

). Chicago's architectural styles include Chicago Bungalows, Two-Flats, and Graystones along Logan Boulevard and Lawndale Avenue. The Loop is home to

skyscrapers A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

as well as

sacred architecture Sacral architecture (also known as sacred architecture or religious architecture) is a religious architectural practice concerned with the design and construction of places of worship or sacred or intentional space, such as churches, mosques, stu ...

including " Polish Cathedrals". Chicago is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of skyscrapers in the world.

Skyscrapers

File:2010-02-19_16500x2000_chicago_skyline_panorama.jpg, center, 1000px, The 2010 Chicago skyline as seen from the

Adler Planetarium The Adler Planetarium is a public museum in Chicago, Illinois, dedicated to astronomy and astrophysics. It was founded in 1930 by local businessman Max Adler. Located on the northeastern tip of Northerly Island on Lake Michigan in the city, th ...

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One Museum Park One Museum Park is a skyscraper in Chicago, United States. It was designed by Chicago-based architecture firm Pappageorge Haymes, Ltd. and is located in the Near South Side community area. Overview One Museum Park is the second-tallest buil ...

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Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Opened on May 30, 1930, the aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about ...

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The Columbian ''The Columbian'' is a daily newspaper serving the Vancouver, Washington, and Clark County, Washington area. The paper was published for its first decade (1890–1900) as a four-page daily that was meant as a counterweight to the local Republi ...

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Renaissance Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Natio ...

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One Financial Place 425 South Financial Place (formerly known as ''FOUR40'' prior to 2017, and as ''One Financial Place'' prior) is a 515 ft (157 m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It was completed in 1985 and has 40 floors. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill ...

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200 South Wacker Drive 200 South Wacker Drive is a high-rise office building located in Chicago, Illinois. Construction of the building began in 1979 and was completed in 1981. Harry Weese Associates designed the building, which has 41 stories and stands at a height of ...

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Willis Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

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Congress Plaza Hotel The Congress Plaza Hotel is located on South Michigan Avenue across from Grant Park in Chicago at 520 South Michigan Avenue. Its eleven story edifice was originally designed by architect Clinton J. Warren as an annex to the Auditorium Theater ...

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111 South Wacker Drive 111 South Wacker Drive is a high-rise office building located in Chicago, Illinois. Completed in 2005 and standing at 681 feet (208 m), the 51 story blue-glass structure is one of the tallest in the city. It sits on the site of the former U.S. ...

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Auditorium Building The Auditorium Building in Chicago is one of the best-known designs of Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler. Completed in 1889, the building is located at the northwest corner of South Michigan Avenue and Ida B. Wells Drive. The building was des ...

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Field Building The Field Building, also known as the LaSalle National Bank Building and Bank of America Building is an art deco office building at 135 South LaSalle Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. The building was d ...

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CNA Center CNA Center may refer to one of the following buildings that has housed the headquarters of CNA Financial Corporation: * 151 North Franklin, called CNA Center starting in 2018 * 333 South Wabash, called CNA Center until 2018 See also * List of tal ...

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Citadel Center The Citadel Center is a 580 ft (177m) tall skyscraper in the Chicago Loop. It is located at 131 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, Illinois 60603, and was designed by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill and his firm, '' Taller de Arquitectura''. As of 2 ...

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Three First National Plaza Three First National Plaza is a 57-story office tower in Chicago located at 70 West Madison Street. Completed in 1981, the building is one of the tallest in Chicago at . The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in a sawtooth shape ...

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One South Dearborn One South Dearborn is a 571 ft (174m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It was constructed from 2003 to 2005 and has 39 floors. DeStefano Keating Partners designed the building, which is the 71st tallest in Chicago as of November 2022. ...

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Mid-Continental Plaza Mid-Continental Plaza is a 583 ft (178m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. It was completed in 1972 and has 49 floors. Shaw and Associates designed the building, which is the 62nd tallest building in Chicago. It was originally planned a ...

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Legacy Tower Legacy Tower may refer to: * Legacy at Millennium Park, Chicago * Legacy Tower (Purbachal, Dhaka), Bangladesh * Legacy Tower (Rochester, New York) * Legacy Tower at Miami Worldcenter Miami Worldcenter is a large mixed-use development under cons ...

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Pittsfield Building The Pittsfield Building, is a 38-story skyscraper located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion. The building was designated ...

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The Heritage at Millennium Park The Heritage at Millennium Park, located at 130 N. Garland Court in Chicago, Illinois is a mixed-use tower. Completed in 2005, with a height of and 57 floors, the building was designed by the architectural firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz (architects ...

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One Prudential Plaza One Prudential Plaza (formerly known as the Prudential Building) is a 41-story structure in Chicago completed in 1955 as the headquarters for Prudential's Mid-America company. It was the first skyscraper built in Chicago since the Great Depr ...

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Two Prudential Plaza The Two Prudential Plaza is a 64-story skyscraper located in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. At tall, it is currently the sixth-tallest building in Chicago and the 28th-tallest in the U.S., being only five feet from 1,000 feet, making it ...

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower The Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower (BCBS) is on the north end of Millennium Park along E. Randolph Street at the NE corner of Randolph and Columbus Drive, in Chicago, Illinois, United States of America. It is home to the headquarters of Health Car ...

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Aqua Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

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Outer Drive East 400 East Randolph Street Condominiums or simply 400 East Randolph (formerly Outer Drive East) is a 40-story high-rise in Chicago, Illinois, designed by Reinheimer & Associates. The building primarily consists of residential condominiums, though th ...

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John Hancock Center The John Hancock Center is a 100- story, 1,128-foot supertall skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois. Located in the Magnificent Mile district, the building was officially renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue in 2018. The skyscraper was designed ...

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Water Tower Place Water Tower Place is a large urban, mixed-use development comprising a shopping mall, hotel, theater, and condominiums in a 74-story skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The mall is located at 835 North Michigan Avenue, along the Mag ...

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North Harbor Tower North Harbor Tower is a 556 ft (169m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, US. It was completed in 1988 and has 55 floors. Fujikawa Johnson & Associates designed the building, which is the 53rd tallest in Chicago. Each window in the buildin ...

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Onterie Center The Onterie Center is a sixty-story award-winning high rise in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located at 441 East Erie St, and takes its name from a conflation of "Ontario" and "Erie", the streets at its two entrances. Designe ...

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Lake Point Tower Lake Point Tower is a residential skyscraper located on a promontory of the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago, just north of the Chicago River at 505 North Lake Shore Drive. Completed in 1968, it is in the Streeterville neighborhood on the N ...

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Navy Pier Navy Pier is a pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan, located in the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Navy Pier encompasses over of parks, gardens, shops, restaurants, family ...

desc none

2004-06-09 1200x1600 chicago chicago building

Beginning in the early 1880s, architectural pioneers of the Chicago School explored steel-frame construction and, in the 1890s, the use of large areas of plate glass. These were among the first modern skyscrapers.

William LeBaron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

Home Insurance Building The Home Insurance Building was a skyscraper that stood in Chicago from 1885 to 1931. Originally ten stories and tall, it was designed by William Le Baron Jenney in 1884 and completed the next year. Two floors were added in 1891, bringing its ...

was completed in 1885 and is considered to be the first to use steel in its structural frame instead of

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

. However, this building was still clad in heavy brick and stone. The Montauk Building, designed by

John Wellborn Root John Wellborn Root (January 10, 1850 – January 15, 1891) was an American architect who was based in Chicago with Daniel Burnham. He was one of the founders of the Chicago School style. Two of his buildings have been designated a National ...

Sr. and

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

, was built from 1882 to 1883 using structural steel. Daniel Burnham and his partners, John Welborn Root and Charles B. Atwood, designed technically advanced steel frames with glass and terra cotta skins in the mid-1890s, in particular the

Reliance Building The Reliance Building is a skyscraper located at 1 W. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The first floor and basement were designed by John Root of the Burnham and Root architectural firm in 1890, with the rest o ...

; these were made possible by professional engineers, in particular E. C. Shankland, and modern contractors, in particular

George A. Fuller George A. Fuller (1851 – December 14, 1900) was an American architect often credited as being the "inventor" of modern skyscrapers and the modern contracting system. Early life and career Fuller was born in Templeton, Massachusetts, near W ...

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

discarded historical precedent and designed buildings that emphasized their vertical nature. This new form of architecture, by Jenney, Burnham, Sullivan, and others, became known as the "Commercial Style," but was called the "Chicago School" by later historians. In 1892, the Masonic Temple surpassed the

New York World Building The New York World Building (also the Pulitzer Building) was a building in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City, along Park Row between Frankfort Street and the Brooklyn Bridge. Part of the former " Newspaper Row", it was designed by ...

, breaking its two-year reign as the tallest skyscraper, only to be surpassed itself two years later by another New York building. Since 1963, a " Second Chicago School" has emerged from the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe at the

Illinois Institute of Technology Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the merger of the Armour Institute and Lewis Institute in 1940. The university has prog ...

in Chicago. The ideas of structural engineer Fazlur Khan were also influential in this movement, in particular his introduction of a new structural system of framed tubes in

skyscraper design and construction The design and construction of skyscrapers involves creating safe, habitable spaces in very high buildings. The buildings must support their weight, resist wind and earthquakes, and protect occupants from fire. Yet they must also be convenientl ...

. The first building to apply the tube-frame construction was the

DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment Building The Plaza on DeWitt was completed in 1966 as a residential apartment building at 260 E. Chestnut Street in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago. Originally called the DeWitt-Chestnut Apartment Building, and designed by Bangladeshi-Pakistani ...

which Khan designed and was completed in Chicago by 1966. This laid the foundations for the tube structures of many other later skyscrapers, including his own constructions of the

and

(then named the Sears Tower) in Chicago and can be seen in the

construction of the World Trade Center The construction of the first World Trade Center complex in New York City was conceived as an urban renewal project to help revitalize Lower Manhattan spearheaded by David Rockefeller. The project was developed by the Port Authority of N ...

Petronas Towers The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, ( Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially desig ...

Jin Mao Building The Jin Mao Tower (; Shanghainese:'' Cinmeu Dagho''; lit. ‘Golden Prosperity Building’), also known as the or , is a , 88-story (93 if counting the floors in the spire) landmark skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai, China. It contains a s ...

, and most other

supertall A supertall building is an occupied "supertall" structure higher than and beneath . A form of skyscraper, it falls midway between a common minimum definition of "skyscraper" (a building taller ) and a " megatall" building (taller than ). Diff ...

skyscrapers since the 1960s.

would be the world's tallest building from its construction in 1974 until 1998 (when the

was built) and would remain the tallest for some categories of buildings until the Burj Khalifa was completed in early 2010.

Landmarks, monuments and public places

View_of_Chicago_Water_Tower_from_the_table_(32580255030)

Numerous architects have constructed landmark buildings of varying styles in Chicago. Among them are the so-called "Chicago seven":

James Ingo Freed James Ingo Freed (June 23, 1930 – December 15, 2005) was an American architect born in Essen, Germany during the Weimar Republic. After coming to the United States at age nine with his sister Betty, followed later by their parents, he studi ...

, Tom Beeby, Larry Booth, Stuart Cohen, James Nagle,

Stanley Tigerman Stanley Tigerman (September 20, 1930 – June 3, 2019) was an American architect, theorist and designer. Biography Early years Tigerman was born into a Jewish family, the only child of Emma (Stern), a typist for the federal government, and Sa ...

, and Ben Weese.

led the design of the "White City" of the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

which some historians claim led to a revival of

Neo-Classical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

throughout Chicago and the entire United States. Burnham developed the 1909 " Plan for Chicago" in a Neo-Classical style, although many skyscrapers were built after the Exposition closed, between 1894 and 1899.

said that the fair set the course of American architecture back by two decades, but his work the Schlesinger and Meyer (later Carson, Pirie, Scott) store was built in 1899—five years after the "White City" and ten years before Burnham's Plan. Erik Larson's history of the Columbian Exposition, ''

The Devil in the White City ''The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America'' (Crown Publishers, ) is a 2003 historical non-fiction book by Erik Larson presented in a novelistic style. It tells the story of the 1893 World's Colu ...

'', says that the building techniques developed during the construction of the many buildings of the fair were entirely modern, even if they were adorned in a way Sullivan found aesthetically distasteful. Chicago's

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acce ...

includes outdoor works by

Chagall Marc Chagall; russian: link=no, Марк Заха́рович Шага́л ; be, Марк Захаравіч Шагал . (born Moishe Shagal; 28 March 1985) was a Russian-French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with se ...

, Picasso, Miró and Abakanowicz. City sculptures additionally honor people and topics from the

history of Chicago Chicago has played a central role in American economic, cultural and political history. Since the 1850s Chicago has been one of the dominant metropolises in the Midwestern United States, and has been the largest city in the Midwest since the 1 ...

. There are monuments to: *

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

by Kazimierz Chodzinski *

Nicholas Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulated ...

by Bertel Thorvaldsen *

Karel Havlíček Borovský Karel Havlíček Borovský (; Borová, today ''Havlíčkova Borová;'' 31 October 1821 – 29 July 1856) was a Czech writer, poet, critic, politician, journalist, and publisher. Early life and education He lived and studied at the Gymnasium ...

by Joseph Strachovsky *

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, several different monuments (including by Czesław Dźwigaj) *

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdyc ...

Albin Polasek Albin Polasek (February 14, 1879 – May 19, 1965) was a Czech-American sculptor and educator. He created more than 400 works during his career, 200 of which are displayed in the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Flori ...

Irv Kupcinet Irving Kupcinet (July 31, 1912 – November 10, 2003) was an American newspaper columnist for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', television talk-show host, and radio personality based in Chicago, Illinois. He was popularly known by the nickname "Kup". ...

by Preston Eugene Jackson *

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

Augustus Saint Gaudens Augustus Saint-Gaudens (; March 1, 1848 – August 3, 1907) was an American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who embodied the ideals of the American Renaissance. From a French-Irish family, Saint-Gaudens was raised in New York City, he trave ...

* The

Heald Square Monument The ''Heald Square Monument'' is a bronze sculpture group by Lorado Taft in Heald Square, Chicago, Illinois. It depicts General George Washington, and the two principal financiers of the American Revolution, Robert Morris and Haym Salomon. Fol ...

featuring

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

Haym Salomon Haym Salomon (also Solomon; anglicized from Chaim Salomon; April 7, 1740 – January 6, 1785) was a Polish-born Jewish businessman and political financial broker who assisted the Superintendent of Finance, English-born Robert Morris, as the prim ...

, and Robert Morris by

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...

, (completed by

Leonard Crunelle Leonard Crunelle (July 8, 1872 in Lens, Pas-de-Calais – 1944) was a French-born American sculptor especially known for his sculptures of children. Crunelle immigrated with his family to the United States and worked as a coal miner in Decatur, ...

) *

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

by Carl Brioschi * General John A. Logan by

Harry Caray Harry Christopher Caray (; March 1, 1914 – February 18, 1998) was an American radio and television sportscaster. During his career he called the play-by-play for five Major League Baseball teams, beginning with 25 years of calling the games ...

by Omri Amrany and

Lou Cella Lou Cella is an American sculptor. His works in include Seattle's statues of Dave Niehaus (2011), Ken Griffey Jr. (2017), Don James (2017), and Edgar Martínez (2021). In 2018, he received the United States Sports Academy The United States Sp ...

Jack Brickhouse John Beasley Brickhouse (January 24, 1916 – August 6, 1998) was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Ha ...

by Jerry McKenna * A memorial to the

Haymarket affair The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square i ...

Mary Brogger Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

* A memorial to the Great Northern Migration by Alison Saar There are also plans to erect a 1:1-scale replica of

Wacław Szymanowski Wacław Szymanowski (23 August 185922 July 1930) was a Polish sculptor and painter. He is best known for his statue of composer Frédéric Chopin in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park (Łazienki Park). Life Szymanowski was born in Warsaw and was the s ...

's statue of Frédéric Chopin along Chicago's lakefront. in addition to a different sculpture commemorating the artist in Chopin Park. In the 21st century, Chicago has become an urban focus for landscape architecture and the architecture of public places. 19th-20th century Chicago architects included Burnham, Frederick Olmsted,

Jens Jensen Jens Jensen may refer to: * Jens Jensen (footballer) (1890–1957), Danish football (soccer) player who played one game for the Denmark national football team * Jens Jensen (landscape architect) (1860–1951), Danish-born landscape architect in Chi ...

and

Alfred Caldwell Alfred Caldwell (May 26, 1903 – July 3, 1998) was an American architect best known for his landscape architecture in and around Chicago, Illinois. Family and education Caldwell and his wife Virginia had a daughter, Carol Caldwell Dooley, born ...

, modern projects include

Millennium Park Millennium Park is a public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago, operated by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs. The park, opened in 2004 and intended to celebrate the third millennium, is a prominent civic center nea ...

Northerly Island Northerly Island is a man-made peninsula along Chicago's Lake Michigan lakefront. The site of the Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island connects to the mainland through a narrow isthmus along Solidarity Drive. This street is dominated by Neoclass ...

, the 606, the Chicago Riverwalk,

Maggie Daley Park Maggie Daley Park is a public park in the Loop community area of Chicago operated by the Chicago Park District. It is near the Lake Michigan shoreline in northeastern Grant Park where Daley Bicentennial Plaza previously stood. Maggie Daley Pa ...

, and proposals in Jackson Park.

Residential architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

's Prairie School influenced both building design and the design of furnishings. In the early half of the 20th century, popular residential neighborhoods were developed with

Chicago Bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...

style houses, many of which still exist. The two-flat apartment building, along with the larger three- and six-flat buildings, make up 30% of Chicago's housing stock. A two-flat includes two apartments, each of which occupies a full floor, usually with a large bay window and with a grey stone or red brick facade. The apartments typically have the same layout with a large living and dining room area at the front, the kitchen at the back and the bedrooms running down one side of the unit. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's

campus in Chicago influenced the later Modern or International style. Van der Rohe's work is sometimes called the Second Chicago School.

Preservation

Many organizations, including

Preservation Chicago Preservation Chicago is a historic preservation advocacy group in Chicago, Illinois, which formally commenced operations on October 23, 2001.

and Landmarks Illinois, promote the preservation of historic neighborhoods and buildings in Chicago. Chicago has suffered from the same problems with sinking property values and urban decline as other major cities. Many historic structures have been threatened with demolition.

Timeline of notable buildings

1836–1900 * 1836 Henry B. Clarke House * 1869

Chicago Water Tower The Chicago Water Tower is a contributing property and landmark in the Old Chicago Water Tower District in Chicago, Illinois, United States, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built to enclose the tall machinery of a po ...

William W. Boyington William Warren Boyington (July 22, 1818 – October 16, 1898) was an architect who designed several notable structures in and around Chicago, Illinois. He was also mayor of Highland Park, Illinois. History Originally from Massachusetts, W.W. Bo ...

* 1874 Second Presbyterian Church 1936 S. Michigan, James Renwick 1900

Howard Van Doren Shaw Howard Van Doren Shaw AIA (May 7, 1869 – May 7, 1926) was an architect in Chicago, Illinois. Shaw was a leader in the American Craftsman movement, best exemplified in his 1900 remodel of Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He designe ...

* 1877 St. Stanislaus Kostka Church 1327 N. Noble,

Patrick Keely Patrick Charles Keely (August 9, 1816 — August 11, 1896) was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildin ...

* 1882–1883 Montauk Building,

and

. First building to be called a "skyscraper." (Demolished, 1902) * 1885

, Chicago School,

William Le Baron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

(Demolished, 1931) Home Insurance Building

* 1885

Palmer Mansion The Palmer Mansion was a large private home constructed 1882–1885 at 1350 N. Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Illinois. Once the largest private residence in the city, it was located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Near North Side neighborhood, fac ...

, early Romanesque and Norman Gothic,

Henry Ives Cobb Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Gothic style ...

and

Charles Sumner Frost Charles Sumner Frost (May 31, 1856 – December 11, 1931) was an American architect. He is best known as the architect of Navy Pier and for designing over 100 buildings for the Chicago and North Western Railway. Biography Born in Lewiston, Main ...

(Demolished, 1950) * 1886

John J. Glessner House The John J. Glessner House, operated as the Glessner House, is an architecturally important 19th-century residence located at 1800 S. Prairie Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Built during the Gilded Age, it was designed in 1885–1886 by architect He ...

Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...

* 1887

Marshall Field Warehouse Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, Chicago, Illinois, sometimes referred to as the Marshall Field's Warehouse Store, was a landmark seven-story building designed by Henry Hobson Richardson. Intended for the wholesale business of Field's eponymousl ...

(Demolished, 1930) * 1888

Rookery Building The Rookery Building is a historic office building located at 209 South LaSalle Street in the Chicago Loop. Completed by architects Daniel Burnham and John Wellborn Root of Burnham and Root in 1888, it is considered one of their masterpiec ...

and

, 1905 lobby redesign by

* 1889

Monadnock Building The Monadnock Building (historically the Monadnock Block; pronounced ) is a 16-story skyscraper located at 53 West Jackson Boulevard in the south Loop area of Chicago. The north half of the building was designed by the firm of Burnham & Root ...

and

* 1889

and

Dankmar Adler Dankmar Adler (July 3, 1844 – April 16, 1900) was a German-born American architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his fifteen-year partnership with Louis Sullivan, during which they designed influential skyscrapers that boldly addr ...

. * 1889 St. Mary of Perpetual Help Church,

Henry Engelbert Henry Engelbert (1826–1901) was a German-American architect. He was best known for buildings in the French Second Empire style, which emphasized elaborate mansard roofs with dormers. New York's Grand Hotel on Broadway is the most noteworthy ...

* 1890 and 1894–1895

, Charles B. Atwood of

Burnham & Root Burnham and Root was one of Chicago's most famous architectural companies of the nineteenth century. It was established by Daniel Hudson Burnham and John Wellborn Root. During their eighteen years of partnership, Burnham and Root designed and b ...

* 1890–1899 Gage Group Buildings,

Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

with

* 1891 Manhattan Building,

William Le Baron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

* 1892 Masonic Temple,

and

(Demolished, 1939) * 1892–1893

, director of Works * 1893 Palace of Fine Arts, later Museum of Science and Industry, Beaux-Arts, Charles B. Atwood * 1893-1898 St. John Cantius Church, Alphonsus Druiding * 1894

Tree Studio Building and Annexes The Tree Studio Building and Annexes was an artist colony established in Chicago, Illinois in 1894 by Judge Lambert Tree and his wife, Anne Tree. Origin Tree arranged to have the original Tree building constructed in 1894, designed by the archite ...

, Judge Lambert & Anne Tree via Parfitt Brothers; 1912 annex: Hill and Woltersdorf * 1895–1896

Fisher Building (Chicago) The Fisher Building is 20-story, neo-Gothic landmark building located at 343 South Dearborn Street in the Chicago Loop community area of Chicago. Commissioned by paper magnate Lucius Fisher, the original building was completed in 1896 by D.H ...

, D.H. Burnham & Company, Charles B. Atwood * 1897 St. Paul Church 2234 S. Hoyne, Henry Schlacks * 1897 Chicago Library (now Chicago Cultural Center),

Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge was a successful architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, operating between 1886 and 1915, with extensive commissions in monumental civic, religious, and collegiate architecture in the spirit and style of Henry ...

* 1899 Sullivan Center,

; 1905–1906, twelve-story south addition, D.H. Burnham & Company 1900-1939: * 1902

Marshall Field and Company Building The Marshall Field and Company Building, which now houses Macy's State Street in Chicago, Illinois, was built in two stages—north end in 1901–02 (including columned entrance) and south end in 1905–06, and was the flagship location of the ...

, north State Street building D.H. Burnham & Company, Charles B. Atwood * 1903 Holy Trinity Cathedral, Chicago * 1905-1906

Holy Trinity Polish Mission Holy Trinity Church ( pl, Kościół Trójcy Świętej) is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at 1118 North Noble Street. It is a prime example of the so-called ' Polish Cathedral style' of churches, in both i ...

, Herman Olszewski and William G. Krieg, * 1905

Chicago Federal Building The Chicago Federal Building in Chicago, Illinois was constructed between 1898 and 1905 for the purpose of housing the Midwest's federal courts, main post office, and other government bureaus. It stood in The Loop neighborhood on a block bo ...

* 1906 Sears Merchandise Building Tower, George G. Nimmons - William K. Fellows * 1907

, south State Street building D.H. Burnham & Company, Charles B. Atwood * 1909

Robie House The Frederick C. Robie House is a U.S. National Historic Landmark now on the campus of the University of Chicago in the South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park in Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1909 and 1910, the building was designed as a sing ...

, Prairie School,

* 1910-1911 Eighth Church of Christ, Scientist, Leon E. Stanhope. Designated a Chicago Landmark on June 9, 1993. * 1912-1914 St. Adalbert's Church 1650 W.17th street, Henry Schlacks * 1912

Medinah Temple The Medinah Temple is a large Moorish Revival building in Chicago built by Shriners architects Huehl and Schmidt in 1912. It is located on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois at 600 N. Wabash Avenue, extending from Ohio Street to Ontari ...

North Wabash Avenue * 1912 Pulaski Park fieldhouse by

* 1914

* 1914-1920 St. Mary of the Angels Church 1850 N. Hermitage Ave,

Worthmann and Steinbach Worthmann & Steinbach was a Chicago-based architectural firm that was active from 1903 through 1928. It was a partnership between Henry W. Worthmann (June 18, 1857 – April 11, 1946) and John G. Steinbach (b. 1878) The firm is best remembered ...

* 1915 Holy Cross Church,

Joseph Molitor Joseph Molitor (14 February 1874 – 26 August 1917) was a Czechs, Bohemian-born architect with a noteworthy legacy in church architecture. Early life Molitor was born Josef Molitor on 14 February 1874, the Catholic Church, Catholic feast day ...

* 1916

Navy Pier Auditorium The Navy Pier Auditorium, designed by the architect Charles Sumner Frost and constructed in 1916, is located at the east end of Navy Pier in Chicago and is also known as the Hall. The Navy Pier Auditorium consists of the Festival Hall and the Aon ...

* 1917–1920 Michigan Avenue Bridge, Edward H. Bennett * 1917-1921 Basilica of St. Hyacinth 3636 West Wolfram Avenue, Worthmann & Steinbach * 1919-1924

Wrigley Building The Wrigley Building is a skyscraper located at 400–410 North Michigan Avenue on Chicago's Near North Side. It is located on the Magnificent Mile directly across Michigan Avenue from the Tribune Tower. Its two towers in an elaborate style wer ...

Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (GAP&W) was a Chicago architectural firm that was founded in 1912 as Graham, Burnham & Co. This firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. through Daniel Burnham's surviving partner, Ernest R. Graham, and Burnh ...

* 1921

Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban a ...

, Beaux-Arts, Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp * 1921

Old Chicago Main Post Office The Old Chicago Main Post Office is a nine-story-tall building in downtown Chicago. The original building was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and built in 1921, but the structure was expanded greatly in 1932 in order to serve Chi ...

* 1922

Tribune Tower The Tribune Tower is a , 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located at 435 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built between 1923 and 1925, the international design competition for the tower became a historic event in 20th-ce ...

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

John Mead Howells John Mead Howells, (; August 14, 1868 – September 22, 1959), was an American architect. Early life and education Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of author William Dean Howells, he earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard Unive ...

and Raymond M. Hood Tribune_Tower3

* 1924

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...

; extensive renovation 2003,

Ben Wood Ben Wood (born 1980, in Shoreham-By-Sea, United Kingdom) is a British visual artist living and working in San Francisco. Over the past decade he has carried out public projects in San Francisco and exhibited in Mexico City, Honolulu and the United ...

and Carlos Zapata * 1925 Uptown Theatre, Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp * 1927

Graham, Anderson, Probst and White Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (GAP&W) was a Chicago architectural firm that was founded in 1912 as Graham, Burnham & Co. This firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. through Daniel Burnham's surviving partner, Ernest R. Graham, and Burnh ...

* 1929 Carbide & Carbon Building, Daniel and Hubert Burnham, sons of

* 1929

Palmolive Building The Palmolive Building, formerly the Playboy Building, is a 37-story Art Deco building at 919 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Built by Holabird & Root, it was completed in 1929 and was home to the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Corporation. The Palmo ...

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

* 1929

John G. Shedd Aquarium Shedd Aquarium (formally the John G. Shedd Aquarium) is an indoor public aquarium in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Opened on May 30, 1930, the aquarium was for some time the largest indoor facility in the world. Today it holds about ...

* 1930

Chicago Board of Trade Building The Chicago Board of Trade Building is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper located in the Chicago Loop, standing at the foot of the LaSalle Street canyon. Built in 1930 for the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), it has served as the primary trading v ...

* 1930 All Saints Cathedral, J. G. Steinbach * 1930 Gateway Theatre Mason Rapp of

Rapp & Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, inclu ...

; extensive renovation 1979 to 1984, "Solidarity Tower" addition in 1985 * 1930 Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Ernest A. Grunsfeld, Jr. * 1931

Merchandise Mart The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building located in downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it was opened in 1930, it was the largest building in the world, with of floor space. The Art Deco structure is locate ...

* 1930s-1960s

, including S.R. Crown Hall, Second Chicago School, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill * 1934

1940 to the present: * 1940-1942 St. Wenceslaus church, 3400 N. Monticello Ave, McCarthy, Smith and Eppig * 860-880_Lake_Shore_Drive

1952 860–880 Lake Shore Drive, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe * 1957

Inland Steel Building The Inland Steel Building is a skyscraper located at 30 W. Monroe Street in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the city's defining commercial high-rises of the post-World War II era of modern architecture.Schulze, Franz & Harrington, Kevin (2003). ' ...

Bruce Graham Bruce John Graham (December 1, 1925 – March 6, 2010) was a Peruvian-American architect. Graham built buildings all over the world and was deeply involved with evolving the Burnham Plan of Chicago. Among his most notable buildings are the ...

and Walter Netsch, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, * 1964

Marina City Marina City is a mixed-use residential-commercial building complex in Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America, designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg. The multi-building complex opened between 1963 and 1967 and occupies almost an entir ...

Bertrand Goldberg Bertrand Goldberg (July 17, 1913 – October 8, 1997) was an American architect and industrial designer, best known for the Marina City complex in Chicago, Illinois, the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world at the time of complet ...

* 1968

John Heinrich John Herbert "Jack" Heinrich, (born December 20, 1936) was a commercial and real estate lawyer and political figure in British Columbia. He represented Prince George North in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1979 to 1986 as a ...

and George Schipporeit * 1968 Seventeenth Church of Christ, Scientist.

Harry Weese Harry Mohr Weese (June 30, 1915 – October 29, 1998) was an American architect who had an important role in 20th century modernism and historic preservation. His brother, Ben Weese, is also a renowned architect. Early life and education Harry ...

* 1969

, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill * 1973

330 North Wabash 330 North Wabash (formerly IBM Plaza also known as IBM Building and now renamed AMA Plaza) is a skyscraper in downtown Chicago, Illinois, United States, at 330 N. Wabash Avenue, designed by the architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (who died in ...

, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe * 1974

, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (''previously the Sears Tower'') * 1974 Aon Center,

Edward Durrell Stone Edward Durell Stone (March 9, 1902 – August 6, 1978) was an American architect known for the formal, highly decorative buildings he designed in the 1950s and 1960s. His works include the Museum of Modern Art, in New York City, the Museo de A ...

(''earlier names were Standard Oil Building and Amoco Building'') * 1977 St. Joseph the Betrothed Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church * 1979-85 James R. Thompson Center,

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liber ...

* 1989

NBC Tower __NOTOC__ The NBC Tower is an office tower on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois located at 454 North Columbus Drive (455 North Cityfront Plaza is also used as a vanity address for the building) in downtown Chicago's Magnificent Mile area. ...

, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill * 1990 American Medical Association Building,

Kenzo Tange is a common masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Kenzō can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢三, "wise, three" *健三, "healthy, three" *謙三, "humble, three" *健想, "healthy, concept" *建造, "bu ...

* 1990 Athletic Club Illinois Center,

Kisho Kurokawa (April 8, 1934 – October 12, 2007) was a leading Japanese architect and one of the founders of the Metabolist Movement. Biography Born in Kanie, Aichi, Kurokawa studied architecture at Kyoto University, graduating with a bachelor's ...

* 1991 Harold Washington Library Center, Thomas Beeby * 1991 Guaranteed Rate Field, Home of the White Sox * 1991 Museum of Contemporary Art,

Josef Paul Kleihues Josef Paul Kleihues (11 June 1933, Rheine – 13 August 2004, Berlin) was a German architect, most notable for his decades long contributions to the " critical reconstruction" of Berlin. His design approach has been described as "poetic rationalist ...

* 1992 77 West Wacker Drive,

Ricardo Bofill Ricardo Bofill Leví (; 5 December 1939 – 14 January 2022) was a Spanish architect from Catalonia. He founded Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura in 1963 and developed it into a leading international architectural and urban design practice. ...

* 2004

, Frank Gehry,

Kathryn Gustafson Kathryn Gustafson (born 1951) is an American landscape architect. Her work includes the Gardens of the Imagination in Terrasson, France; a city square in Évry, France; and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park, London. She ...

Anish Kapoor Sir Anish Mikhail Kapoor (born 12 March 1954) is a British-Indian sculptor specializing in installation art and conceptual art. Born in Mumbai, Kapoor attended the elite all-boys Indian boarding school The Doon School, before moving to the UK t ...

Jaume Plensa Jaume Plensa i Suñé (; born 23 August 1955) is a Spanish visual artist, sculptor, designer and engraver. He is a versatile artist who has also created opera sets, video projections and acoustic installations. He worked with renowned Catalan t ...

, and others, a showcase for 21st century modernism. * 2009

155 North Wacker 155 North Wacker is a 48-story skyscraper located in Chicago, Illinois designed by Goettsch Partners and was developed by the John Buck Company.Goettsch Partners * 2009

Trump International Hotel and Tower Trump International Hotel may refer to: Current Five buildings are named Trump Hotels with four owned/operated by the Trump organization: * Trump International Hotel and Tower (Chicago) * Trump International Hotel and Tower (New York City) * Tru ...

, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill * 2010

Aqua Tower Aqua is an 82-story mixed-use skyscraper in Lakeshore East, downtown Chicago, Illinois. Designed by a team led by Jeanne Gang of Studio Gang Architects, with James Loewenberg of Loewenberg & Associates as the Architect of Record, it includes ...

, Studio Gang Architects * 2019 NEMA, Rafael Viñoly Architects * 2019 One Bennett Park,

Robert A.M. Stern Architects Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP (RAMSA), is an architecture firm based in New York City. First established by Robert A. M. Stern (as Stern Hagmann Architects) in 1969, it is now organized as a limited liability partnership with 16 general partne ...

* 2020

110 North Wacker 110 North Wacker, also known as the Bank of America Tower, is a 57-floor skyscraper in Chicago located at 110 North Wacker Drive. It was developed by the Howard Hughes Corporation and Riverside Investment & Development. It was designed by Goet ...

, Goettsch Partners * 2021 St. Regis Chicago, Studio Gang Architects

Styles and schools

Chicago architects used many design styles and belonged to a variety of architectural schools. Below is a list of those styles and schools. * American Four-Square *

/ Moderne * Art Nouveau * Arts & Crafts * Chateauesque * Chicago School (Also called Commercial Style) * City Beautiful *Classical Revival (also known as

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

) *

Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

*Craftsman (also known as American Craftsman) *

Dutch Colonial Dutch Colonial is a style of domestic architecture, primarily characterized by gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house. Modern versions built in the early 20th century are more accurately referred to as "Dutch Colonial Re ...

* Eastlake/Stick *

Edwardian architecture Edwardian architecture is a Neo-Baroque architectural style that was popular in the British Empire during the Edwardian era (1901–1910). Architecture up to the year 1914 may also be included in this style. Description Edwardian architecture is ...

* Gothic Revival *

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(sometimes called Second Chicago School) *

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

*Middle Eastern * Modern *Oriental * Postmodern * Prairie School * Queen Anne *Renaissance Revival also known as

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

also known as Neo-Romanesque *

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

*Spanish Revival also known as

Spanish Colonial Revival The Spanish Colonial Revival Style ( es, Arquitectura neocolonial española) is an architectural stylistic movement arising in the early 20th century based on the Spanish Colonial architecture of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the ...

*Sullivanesque (for style elements and examples see

) *

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

*Workers Cottage

Buildings - a "Top Forty" List

In 2010, ''

Chicago Magazine ''Chicago'' is a monthly magazine published by Tribune Publishing. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, l ...

'' selected 40 still existing properties for their historical and architectural importance,''

'
Top 40 Buildings in Chicago
/ref> opening an on-line forum for debate. The top ten chosen were: *1:

, 875 N. Michigan Ave. (1969) *2:

, 209 S. LaSalle St. (1885–1888) *3:

860-880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments 86 may refer to: * 86 (number), a natural number * 86 (term), a slang term for getting rid of something Dates * 86 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar * AD 86, a common year of the Julian calendar * 1986, a common year of the Gregorian ...

, (1952) *4:

, 53 W. Jackson Blvd. (1891 and 1893) *5:

Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building The Sullivan Center, formerly known as the Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Building or Carson, Pirie, Scott and Company Store, is a commercial building at 1 South State Street at the corner of East Madison Street in Chicago, Illinois. Louis S ...

, 1 S. State St. (1899) *6: S. R. Crown Hall, 3360 S. State St. (1956) *7:

, 430 S. Michigan Ave. (1889) *8: Frederick C. Robie House, 5757 S. Woodlawn Ave. (1909) *9:

Farnsworth House (Plano, Illinois) The Edith Farnsworth House, formerly the Farnsworth House, is a historical house designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. The house was constructed as a one-room weekend retreat in a rural setting in Plano, I ...

, 14520 River Rd., Plano, IL (1951) *10:

Sears Tower The Willis Tower (originally the Sears Tower) is a 108- story, skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago in Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM ...

(now the Willis Tower), 233 S. Wacker Dr. (1974)

Notes

References

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External links

Online tour of designated Chicago landmarks

Walking architectural tours of Chicago

Chicago Church Architecture

American Institute of Architects

Chicago Architects Project - Society of Architectural Historians
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