Tribune Tower
The runner-up in a 1922 design contest reshaped American architecture more than the winner ever did.
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Chicago Tribune's 1922 competition — 260 entries, a $50,000 first prize for "the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world" — produced a neo-Gothic winner by Howells and Hood at 435 North Michigan Avenue. But Eliel Saarinen's second-place entry, which Louis Sullivan preferred, lost and still ended up shaping a generation of American skyscrapers. The building converted to luxury residences in 2018 and won a 2023 Driehaus Prize for preservation and adaptive reuse.
What to look for
- Buttresses near the crown — the defining detail of Howells and Hood's winning neo-Gothic design
- 36 floors of Gothic stone rising 463 feet above Michigan Avenue
- Its place within the Michigan–Wacker Historic District
Now private residences since 2018; exterior viewing only — cross to the opposite sidewalk on North Michigan Avenue for the full facade.
Tribune Tower 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.