Page 44 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guides - Chicago

42 ❯❯ The Top 10 of Everything

Skyscrapers

The Rookery
1 be wrapped in glass. It offers a fine
One of the earliest remaining
example of the Chicago window,
skyscrapers, this 1888 land mark (see charac terized by a bay window placed
p72) combines traditional wall-bearing between two narrow, double-hung
and newer steel-frame construction. windows. Occupied by the Hotel
The latter made it pos sible for its Burnham (see p117) the inside has
architects, Burnham and Root, to replicas of original features (see p74).
design an open interior, with offices
860–80 N. Lake Shore
set around a central light well. 5
Drive
MAP L2
You might think these two high-rise
apartment buildings (1949–51) look
like the others along this classy strip.
Actually, the others look like these.
Architect Mies van der Rohe perfected
the “less is more” approach, which so
many other architects went on to copy.
Willis Tower
6
This soaring tower, built in
1973 for retailer Sears Roebuck
and Co. (who have since moved out),
can be seen from almost anywhere
in the city. Its Skydeck affords
sensational views (see pp12–13).
Marina City
The 100-story John Hancock Center 7
With its twin cylindrical
John Hancock Center
2 structures (1959–64) on the Chicago
River, Marina City (see p12) is a
The tapering, 100-story
John Hancock Center is somewhat “city within a city,” containing offices,
overshadowed by the higher residences, a theater, and more.
Willis Tower but is arguably more The apartments afford spectacular
distinctive. Designed by Skidmore, views, but their shape creates some
Owings & Merrill, who also did the interior decorating challenges.
Willis, it features its own observatory
on the 94th floor (see p79). Marina City
Auditorium Theatre
3
MAP L5 • 50 E. Congress Pkwy.
• For tours call 312-341-2389
Built by Adler and Sullivan in
1889, the ornate Auditorium also
originally contained a hotel and office
building and had one of the first
public air-conditioning systems.
The revamped 4,000-seat theater
boasts near-perfect acoustics.
Reliance Building
4
The steel skeleton on this
1895-built skyscraper allowed it to

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