List of tallest buildings in Chicago

Chicago skyline in the evening

Chicago's skyline with the Willis Tower (in the back), further ahead on the left the Trump Tower

Graphical size comparison between the Willis Tower , Trump Tower , Vista Tower , Aon Center , John Hancock Center and the AT&T Corporate Center

The article List of tallest buildings in Chicago includes lists of skyscrapers of the city Chicago , compiled from various viewpoints. The main table lists the buildings according to their official height. In addition, there are further lists according to various measurement categories (e.g. height including antennas, etc.), according to time aspects, according to function and the degree of their implementation. At the end there is a list of the buildings that no longer exist, but were once among the tallest.

introduction

Chicago has more of these buildings than any other city in the United States, with the exception of New York City , with over four hundred skyscrapers . Chicago, along with New York, is the birthplace of the skyscraper type. Most of the city's skyscrapers are concentrated in the Chicago Loop , similar to Manhattan in New York .

Chicago is considered the birthplace of skyscrapers. After the fire of 1871 , fire-proof buildings had to be built. These were then built in a new steel frame construction. The Home Insurance Building by architect William Le Baron Jenney is considered the world's first modern skyscraper. The skyscraper, built in 1884, was the first of its kind to be built with a steel frame. From today's perspective, the 10 floors are no longer perceived as skyscrapers, but were breathtaking at the time and sparked a trend that was exported from Chicago to New York and then around the world. The style of these skyscrapers that come from this time is called the Chicago School . Other well-known examples are the Reliance Building , the Monadnock Building , and the Manhattan Building .

The tallest building in Chicago is the 442-meter-high Willis Tower ( known as the Sears Tower until 2009 ). It was completed in 1974 and was the tallest building on earth until 1998. It is also the second tallest building in the United States . With its antennas, the Willis Tower is even 527 meters high, making it the tallest building in the world in terms of total height until 2009. He lost the title of tallest skyscraper on the American continent in May 2013 after the topping-out ceremony at New York's One World Trade Center , which has reached a height of 541 meters. The second tallest building in the city is the Trump International Hotel and Tower , which was completed in 2009 and is 423 meters high. In 3rd and 4th place are the Aon Center (346 m high, built in 1973) and the John Hancock Center (344 m, built in 1969). Chicago, however, has other skyscrapers over 300 m high: The AT&T Corporate Center (307 m, built in 1989) and the Two Prudential Plaza (303 m, built in 1990). Chicago is home to four of the ten tallest buildings in the United States, just as many as New York . The rest are in Philadelphia and Los Angeles .

Due to the current financial crisis , construction was halted on some major projects. The construction of the Chicago Spire , which began in 2007 and is to be 610 meters high, had to be stopped at the end of 2008. It is currently questionable whether the building will ever be completed. Another project for the world's tallest building in Chicago was 7 South Dearborn with a height of 477 meters, including the antenna 610 meters. In 2009, some skyscrapers with heights of over 200 meters were completed. Currently (as of 2018) there are a few high-rise buildings over 200 meters under construction. Including the Vista Tower , which at 365 meters will be the third highest in the city.

List of tallest buildings in Chicago

According to the official height

This list shows the tallest buildings in Chicago. Only completed buildings are listed, those under construction are only listed if they have already reached their final height (these are provided with corresponding footnotes). The official height for the ranking list applies, i.e. the height of the building structure, including the height of spiers, but no antennas. The Use column indicates the functions of the building: A single function is given if 85 percent or more of the building's usable area is used for a purpose. Mixed use is when each individual function takes up at least 15 percent of the usable area. All buildings with a height of at least 200 meters are listed.

E. = floors, BJ = year of construction (year of completion)

No.	Surname	height	use	E.	BJ	Remarks
1	Willis Tower	442 m	office	108	1974	Until July 2009 it was called Sears Tower . The second tallest building in the United States and on the Americas, was officially the tallest building in the world from 1974 to 1998 . When counting the antennas at 527 m total height, it was together with the north tower of the World Trade Center of the same height until 2001 , and then continued to be the world's highest skyscraper in total height until 2009. With antennas, it was also the tallest free-standing structure in the United States. There is a publicly accessible viewing platform on the 103rd floor at a height of 412 m . Released from One World Trade Center in New York City on November 3, 2014 .
2	Trump International Hotel & Tower	423 m	Hotel, apartments	98	2009	Fourth tallest building in the United States. Only 357 m to the roof, the top counts towards the height. Tallest structure owned by the Trump Organization . The tallest concrete structure in North America and the tallest building in the world with a pure reinforced concrete structure. Tallest building erected in the US in the 2000s.
3	Aon Center	346 m	office	83	1973	Fifth tallest building in the United States, after its completion it was briefly the tallest in the city.
4th	875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly the John Hancock Center )	344 m	Office, apartments	100	1969	When it was completed, the building was the tallest in the city and the second tallest in the world. With antennas 457 m high, the antennas do not count towards the building height. First building in the city with 100 floors. On the 94th floor there is a viewing platform and next to it the highest ice rink in the world. The highest swimming pool in North America is located on the 44th floor.
5	AT&T Corporate Center	307 m	office	60	1989	Tallest building in the city erected in the 1980s. Height to the roof is 270 m.
6th	Two Prudential Plaza	303 m	office	64	1990	Tallest building in Chicago that was built in the 1990s. Roof height is 279 m. Second tallest concrete building in the city, after Trump Tower.
7th	311 South Wacker Drive	293 m	office	65	1990	Until 1992 the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world.
8th	One Grant Park	272 m	Apartments	76	2019	This building is the tallest in Chicago outside the Loop and the tallest residential building in the city.
9	900 North Michigan Building	265 m	Hotel, apartments, office	66	1989	The facade of the building consists mainly of limestone, which architecturally sets it apart from most other buildings of its size.
10	Aqua	262 m	Hotel, apartments	86	2009
10	Water Tower Place	262 m	Hotel, apartments	74	1976	The building houses the second largest mall in Chicago.
12	Chase Tower	259 m	office	60	1969	Formerly known as Bank One Tower .
13	Park Tower	257 m	Office, apartments	67	2000
14th	One Bennett Park	257 m	Apartments	67	2018
15th	Legacy Tower	250 m	Apartments	71	2010
16	300 North LaSalle	239 m	office	60	2009
17th	Three First National Plaza	234 m	office	57	1981
18th	Chicago Title Trust Tower	230 m	office	50	1992
19th	Blue Cross Shield Tower	229 m	office	50	2010	A 174 meter high part of the building was completed in 1997, before another part of the building was erected between 2007 and 2010, bringing the building to a height of 229 meters.
20th	150 North Riverside	228 m	Apartments	54	2017
21st	One Museum Park	224 m	Apartments	62	2009
22nd	River Point	223 m	office	52	2017
22nd	Olympia Center	223 m	Offices, apartments	63	1986
24	330 North Wabash	212 m	office	52	1972	Formerly known as the IBM Building .
25th	Waldorf Astoria Chicago	209 m	Hotel, apartments	60	2009	Formerly known as the Elysian.
26th	111 South Wacker Drive	208 m	office	51	2005
27	181 West Madison Street	207 m	office	50	1990
28	Hyatt Center	207 m	office	48	2005
29	340 on the park	205 m	Apartments	64	2007
29	One Magnificent Mile	205 m	Office, apartments	57	1983
31	77 West Wacker Drive	204 m	office	49	1992	Also known as the RR Donnelley Building .

According to absolute height

This list shows the height to the highest point of the building, usually the top of the antenna. This is one way of measuring buildings, but as a rule the height of the building structure applies and not that of the antenna tip. This structural height is declared in the table with the official height.

No.	Surname	absolute height	official height	Floors	Construction year
01	Willis Tower	527 m	442 m	108	1974
02	John Hancock Center	457 m	344 m	100	1969
03	Trump International Hotel & Tower	423 m	423 m	98	2009
04th	Aon Center	346 m	346 m	83	1973
05	AT&T Corporate Center	307 m	307 m	60	1989
06th	Two Prudential Plaza	303 m	303 m	64	1990
07th	311 South Wacker Drive	293 m	293 m	65	1990
08th	One Prudential Plaza	278 m	183 m	41	1955
09	One Grant Park	272 m	272 m	76	2019
10	900 North Michigan Building	265 m	265 m	66	1989
11	Water Tower Place	262 m	262 m	74	1976
11	Aqua	262 m	262 m	86	2009
13	Chase Tower	259 m	259 m	60	1969

Tallest buildings of their time

Listed here are all the buildings that ever held the record for tallest building in Chicago. However, on this list only the Willis Tower was once the tallest building on earth.

Period	Surname	height	Floors	Remarks
1922-1924	Wrigley Building	134 m	27
1924-1930	Chicago Temple Building	173 m	23	Other sources speak of a height of 169 m.
1930-1965	Chicago Board of Trade Building	184 m	44
1965-1969	Richard J. Daley Center	198 m	32
1969-1973	John Hancock Center	344 m	100	First building in the city with 100 floors, at the time of completion the second tallest building in the world. Including antennas 457 m high.
1973-1974	Aon Center	346 m	83
1974 – today	Willis Tower	442 m	108	Referred to as Sears Tower until July 2009. Was the tallest building in the world until 1998, the tallest building in the country and the contingent until 2014, and is still the tallest in the city. With antennas 527 m high.

Tallest buildings by function

This list gives the tallest buildings by function. A single function is given when 85 percent or more of the building's usable area is used for a purpose. Mixed use is when each individual function takes up at least 15 percent of the usable area.

use	building	height	Floors	Construction year
offices	Willis Tower	442 m	108	1974
Mixed use	Trump International Hotel and Tower	423 m	098	2009
Apartments	Legacy Tower	250 m	071	2010
hotel	Carbide & Carbon Building	153 m	038	1929

Tallest buildings under construction and in planning

Under construction

Listed here are the tallest buildings in Chicago that are under construction. The year of completion is based on the current official information. It is possible that this information can change.

building	height	use	Floors	planned completion	Remarks
Vista Tower	362 m	Apartments / hotel	98	2020	When completed, will take third place in Chicago's tallest buildings
110 North Wacker	248 m	office	55	2020
Wolf Point East	204 m	Apartments	60	2019

In planning

All buildings in Chicago that are in planning are listed here (as of 2014). The years are to be understood as rough guide values.

building	height	use	Floors
Gateway Tower	610 m	Office / hotel / apartments
Union Station Tower	292 m	office
113 East Roosevelt Phase 1	270 m	Apartments	76
1000 South Michigan	254 m	Apartments	73
130 North Franklin	229 m	office	53