311 South Wacker Drive
Five translucent cylinders crown this 961-foot tower, lit after dark by 1,852 fluorescent tubes — the lantern at the top shifts color for holidays.
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Once the world's tallest reinforced-concrete building, 311 South Wacker's 85-foot glass-ceilinged winter garden was planned as a pedestrian shortcut to Union Station through a disused streetcar tunnel under the Chicago River — a link never completed. Inside, Raymond Kaskey's bronze "Gem of the Lakes" stands at the Wacker entrance beside a fountain whose shell shape is taken directly from the Chicago city seal.
What to look for
- Raymond Kaskey's bronze "Gem of the Lakes" at the Wacker entrance, looking over the winter garden
- The fountain shell, whose form is lifted from the Chicago city seal — a heroic figure in a cape representing Chicago as the "city of broad shoulders"
- The five-cylinder crown after dark, modeled on the massing of Tribune Tower and visible across the Loop
The northwest park — the largest green space in the Chicago Loop — is open to the public during warm months and hosts farmer markets and cultural festivals.
311 South Wacker Drive is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Chicago, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Chicago pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Chicago
- Willis TowerIt held the world's tallest title for nearly 25 years after opening in 1973 — and the Skydeck is still the highest observation deck in the United States.
- Art Institute of ChicagoFour paintings you've seen your whole life — Nighthawks, La Grande Jatte, The Old Guitarist, American Gothic — hang in the same building.
- John Hancock Center (875 N Michigan Ave)A moving platform pivots you 30 degrees outward over the Magnificent Mile — 1,128 feet of nothing beneath your feet.
- Aon CenterWhen it opened in 1973 as "Big Stan," this 83-floor tower was the fourth-tallest building on Earth — and clad entirely in marble.
- United CenterThe Bulls hardwood floor is literally assembled over the Blackhawks ice and taken apart game by game — two teams, one frozen surface, shared by puzzle.
- Soldier FieldThe NFL's oldest stadium lost its National Historic Landmark status because of the renovation meant to save it.