List of tallest buildings in Chicago

Skyline of Chicago from the John Hancock Center, with Aon Center to the left and the Willis Tower to the right

Chicago, the third-largest city in the United States, is home to 1,209 completed high-rises, 73 of which stand taller than 550 feet (168 m). The tallest building in the city is the 108–story Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which rises 1,451 feet (442 m) in the Chicago Loop and was completed in 1974. The Willis Tower was the tallest building in the world from its completion until 1998, when it was overtaken by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; it remained the tallest building in the United States until May 10, 2013 when it was overtaken by One World Trade Center in New York City. The second-, third- and fourth-tallest buildings in Chicago are the Trump International Hotel & Tower, the Aon Center and the John Hancock Center, respectively. Of the ten tallest buildings in the United States, four are located in Chicago. As of February 2013, the entire city has 105 buildings at least 500 feet (152 m) tall, second in the United States only to New York. Based on the average height of the ten tallest completed buildings, however, Chicago has the tallest skyline in the nation and the third-tallest in the world.

Chicago is generally considered to be the birthplace of the skyscraper. The Home Insurance Building, completed in 1885, is often regarded as the world's first steel-framed skyscraper. It was originally built with 10 stories to a height of 138 feet (42 m), and was later expanded to 12 stories with a height of 180 feet (55 m) before being demolished in 1931. Historically, Chicago has played a prominent role in the development of the skyscraper. The Masonic Temple Building was the tallest building in the world using the unconventional definition that excludes the New York World Building's ornamental lantern, and three past buildings have been considered the tallest building in the United States. Chicago went through a very early high-rise construction boom that lasted from the early 1920s to the mid-1930s, during which 11 of the city's 91 tallest buildings were constructed. The city then went through an even larger building boom that has lasted from the early 1960s to the present. The tallest buildings are concentrated in the Loop and along the Magnificent Mile in Chicago's Near North Side community area.

As of March 2013 there are four buildings under construction in Chicago that are expected to rise at least 500 feet (152 m). Several new skyscrapers were constructed in the city throughout the 2000s, including the Trump International Hotel & Tower. The 2,000-foot (610 m) Chicago Spire would have become the new tallest building in the city and the nation if completed. as of February 2013 there were 60 high-rise buildings under construction or proposed in Chicago.

The 2010 Chicago skyline as seen from the Adler Planetarium (Use cursor to identify buildings)

Tallest buildings

This list ranks Chicago skyscrapers that stand at least 550 feet (168 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This height includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year of completion.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
01.01	Willis Tower		1,451 !1,451 (442)	108	1974	41°52′44″N 87°38′9″W	Formerly known as Sears Tower; second tallest building in the United States, 9th-tallest building in the world; tallest building in the world from 1974 until 1998; tallest building completed in the world in the 1970s
02.02	Trump International Hotel and Tower		1389 !1,389 (423)	96	2009	41°53′20″N 87°37′35″W	2nd-tallest building in the United States; tallest building completed in the United States in the 2000s
03.03	Aon Center		1136 !1,136 (346)	83	1973	41°53′7″N 87°37′17″W	5th-tallest in the United States; formerly known as the Standard Oil Building
04.04	John Hancock Center		1127 !1,127 (344)	100	1969	41°53′55.5″N 87°37′23″W	6th-tallest in the United States; tallest building constructed in the world in the 1960s; first building in the world outside of New York City to rise at least 1,000 feet (305 m)
05.05	Franklin Center North Tower		1007 !1,007 (307)	61	1989	41°52′49.5″N 87°38′5″W	Formerly known as the AT&T Corporate Center; 11th-tallest in the United States; tallest building constructed in Chicago in the 1980s
06.06	Two Prudential Plaza		0995 !995 (303)	64	1990	41°53′8″N 87°37′22″W	13th-tallest in the United States; tallest building constructed in Chicago in the 1990s
07.07	311 South Wacker Drive		0961 !961 (293)	65	1990	41°52′39″N 87°38′8″W	16th-tallest in the United States
08.08	900 North Michigan		0871 !871 (266)	66	1989	41°53′59″N 87°37′30″W
09.09	Water Tower Place		0859 !859 (262)	74	1976	41°53′52.5″N 87°37′20.5″W
10.010	Aqua		0859 !859 (262)	86	2009	41°53′11″N 87°37′12″W	One of tallest buildings in the world designed by a female-lead architectural firm; first skyscraper in Chicago to contain a hotel, condominiums, apartments and retail space
11.011	Chase Tower		0850 !850 (259)	60	1969	41°52′53.5″N 87°37′48″W
12.012	Park Tower	—	0844 !844 (257)	67	2000	41°53′49.5″N 87°37′30.5″W
13.013	The Legacy at Millennium Park		0822 !822 (251)	73	2010	41°52′53″N 87°37′32″W	Tallest all-residential building in Chicago
14.014	300 North LaSalle		0784 !784 (239)	60	2009	41°53′17.5″N 87°37′59″W
15.015	Three First National Plaza		0767 !767 (234)	57	1981	41°52′56″N 87°37′50″W
16.016	Chicago Title and Trust Center		0755 !755 (230)	50	1992	41°53′5″N 87°37′50″W
17.017	Blue Cross Blue Shield Tower		0743 !743 (226)	57	2010	41°53′5″N 87°37′12″W	First phase completed in 1997; 24–floor vertical expansion completed in 2010
18.018	One Museum Park		0734 !734 (224)	62	2009	41°52′1.5″N 87°37′17″W	Tallest building on South Side of Chicago; tallest building in the city located outside of the Chicago Loop and the Near North Side.
19.019	Olympia Centre		0731 !731 (223)	63	1986	41°53′47″N 87°37′24″W
20.020	330 North Wabash		0695 !695 (212)	52	1973	41°53′19″N 87°37′39″W	Also known as the IBM Building
21.021	Waldorf Astoria Chicago		0686 !686 (209)	60	2010	41°53′59″N 87°37′39″W
22.022	111 South Wacker Drive		0681 !681 (208)	51	2005	41°52′49″N 87°38′10.5″W
23.023	181 West Madison Street		0680 !680 (207)	50	1990	41°52′53.5″N 87°38′00″W
24.024	Hyatt Center	—	0679 !679 (207)	48	2005	41°52′51″N 87°38′10″W
25.025	One Magnificent Mile		0673 !673 (205)	57	1983	41°54′2″N 87°37′29″W
26.026	340 on the Park		0672 !672 (205)	64	2007	41°53′5.5″N 87°37′8″W
27.027	77 West Wacker Drive		0668 !668 (204)	49	1992	41°53′11.5″N 87°37′50″W	Also known as the United Building; formerly known as the R.R. Donnelley Building
28.028	One North Wacker		0652 !652 (199)	50	2001	41°52′56″N 87°38′10″W	Also known as the UBS Tower
29.029	Richard J. Daley Center		0648 !648 (198)	32	1965	41°53′2.5″N 87°37′49″W	Tallest flat-roofed building in the world that contains fewer than 40 floors
30.030	55 East Erie Street		0648 !647 (197)	56	2003	41°53′38″N 87°37′33″W	2nd-tallest all-residential building in Chicago
31.031	Lake Point Tower		0645 !645 (197)	70	1968	41°53′30″N 87°36′44″W	Shortest building in the world to contain 70 floors
32.032	River East Center		0644 !644 (196)	58	2001	41°53′29″N 87°37′5.5″W
33.033	Grand Plaza I	—	0641 !641 (195)	57	2003	41°53′31″N 87°37′43″W
34.034	155 North Wacker		0638 !638 (195)	45	2009	41°53′5″N 87°38′11.5″W
35.035	Leo Burnett Building		0635 !635 (194)	50	1989	41°53′11″N 87°37′45″W
36.036	The Heritage at Millennium Park		0631 !631 (192)	57	2005	41°53′3″N 87°37′32″W
37.037	NBC Tower		0627 !627 (191)	37	1989	41°53′24″N 87°37′16″W
38.038	353 North Clark		0624 !624 (190)	44	2009	41°53′20″N 87°37′48″W
39.039	Millennium Centre		0610 !610 (186)	58	2003	41°53′35″N 87°37′45″W
40.040	Chicago Place		0608 !608 (185)	49	1991	41°53′43″N 87°37′30.5″W
41.041	Chicago Board of Trade Building		0605 !605 (184)	44	1930	41°52′39.5″N 87°37′56″W	Tallest Art Deco building in the world outside of New York City; tallest building constructed in the city in the 1930s
42.042=	One Prudential Plaza		0601 !601 (183)	41	1955	41°53′5″N 87°37′24″W	Tallest building constructed in Chicago in the 1950s
43.042=	CNA Center		0601 !601 (183)	44	1972	41°52′38″N 87°37′32″W
44.044	Heller International Building		0600 !600 (183)	45	1992	41°52′51″N 87°38′25″W	Tallest building in the city west of the Chicago River
45.045	Madison Plaza		0599 !599 (182)	44	1982	41°52′56″N 87°38′4″W
46.046	One Museum Park West	—	0595 !595 (181)	54	2010	41°52′1.5″N 87°37′19″W
47.047	1000 Lake Shore Plaza	—	0590 !590 (180)	55	1964	41°54′3.5″N 87°37′28″W
48.048	The Clare at Water Tower	—	0589 !589 (179)	52	2008	41°53′50″N 87°37′34″W
49.049	Citigroup Center		0588 !588 (179)	42	1987	41°52′56″N 87°38′26″W
50.050	Mid-Continental Plaza		0583 !583 (178)	49	1972	41°52′49″N 87°37′32.5″W
51.051	Crain Communications Building		0582 !582 (177)	41	1983	41°53′5″N 87°37′30″W
52.052	North Pier Apartments		0581 !581 (177)	61	1990	41°53′27″N 87°36′52.5″W
53.053	Citadel Center		0580 !580 (177)	39	2003	41°52′47″N 87°37′43″W
54.054	The Fordham		0574 !574 (175)	52	2003	41°53′43.5″N 87°37′38″W
55.055	190 South LaSalle Street		0573 !573 (175)	40	1987	41°52′47″N 87°37′58″W
56.056	One South Dearborn		0571 !571 (174)	39	2005	41°52′54″N 87°37′43″W
57.057	Onterie Center		0570 !570 (174)	58	1986	41°53′38″N 87°36′59″W
58.058	Chicago Temple Building		0568 !568 (173)	21	1924	41°52′59″N 87°37′50″W	Tallest building constructed in the city in the 1920s
59.059	Palmolive Building		0565 !565 (172)	37	1929	41°53′59″N 87°37′25″W
60.060=	Marina City I		0562 !562 (171)	61	1964	41°53′17.5″N 87°37′42.5″W
61.060=	Marina City II		0562 !562 (171)	61	1964	41°53′16.5″N 87°37′45″W
62.062=	Huron Plaza	—	0560 !560 (171)	56	1983	41°53′43″N 87°37′36″W
63.062=	Boeing International Headquarters		0560 !560 (171)	36	1990	41°53′2.5″N 87°38′19″W
64.064=	The Parkshore		0556 !556 (169)	56	1991	41°53′8.5″N 87°36′53″W
65.064=	North Harbor Tower		0556 !556 (169)	55	1988	41°53′7.5″N 87°36′55.5″W
66.066	Civic Opera House		0555 !555 (169)	45	1929	41°52′57″N 87°38′14.5″W
67.067	Streeter Place		0554 !554 (169)	55	2009	41°53′32″N 87°37′5″W
68.068=	Newberry Plaza	—	0553 !553 (169)	53	1974	41°54′6″N 87°37′44″W
69.068=	Michigan Plaza South	—	0553 !553 (169)	46	1985	41°53′9.75″N 87°37′25″W
70.068=	30 North LaSalle	—	0553 !553 (169)	44	1975	41°52′58″N 87°37′58″W
71.071	Pittsfield Building		0551 !551 (168)	38	1927	41°52′59″N 87°37′32.5″W
72.072=	Harbor Point		0550 !550 (168)	54	1975	41°53′6″N 87°36′53″W
73.072=	One South Wacker		0550 !550 (168)	40	1982	41°52′54″N 87°38′10″W

Tallest buildings by pinnacle height

One Prudential Plaza is the eighth-tallest building in Chicago when measuring by pinnacle height.

This list ranks Chicago skyscrapers based on their pinnacle height, which includes radio masts and antennas. Standard architectural height measurement, which excludes antennas in building height, is included for comparative purposes. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Pinn. Rank	Std. Rank	Name	Pinnacle height ft (m)	Standard height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Source
1	1	Willis Tower	1730 !1,730 (527)	1451 !1,451 (442)	108	1974
2	4	John Hancock Center	1500 !1,500 (457)	1127 !1,127 (344)	100	1969
3	2	Trump International Hotel and Tower	1389 !1,389 (423)	1389 !1,389 (423)	96	2009
4	3	Aon Center	1136 !1,136 (346)	1136 !1,136 (346)	83	1973
5	5	Franklin Center North Tower	1007 !1,007 (307)	887 !887 (270)	61	1989
6	6	Two Prudential Plaza	0995 !995 (303)	0995 !995 (303)	64	1990
7	7	311 South Wacker Drive	0961 !961 (293)	0961 !961 (293)	65	1990
8	42	One Prudential Plaza	0912 !912 (278)	0601 !601 (183)	41	1955
9	8	900 North Michigan	0871 !871 (266)	0871 !871 (266)	66	1989
10	9	Water Tower Place	0859 !859 (262)	0859 !859 (262)	74	1976

Tallest under construction or proposed

The construction site of the Chicago Spire in May 2008; the project was canceled in 2010

This lists buildings that are under construction or proposed for construction in Chicago and are planned to rise at least 500 feet (152 m). Buildings whose construction is on-hold are also included. A floor count of 40 stories is used as the cutoff for buildings whose heights have not yet been released by their developers.

Name	Height* ft (m)	Floors*	Year* (est.)	Status	Notes
Old Post Office Redevelopment Tower I	999 !2,000 (610)	120	—	Proposed	Considered to be a stale proposal
375 East Wacker Drive	814 (248)	76	—	Proposed
130 North Franklin	700 (213)	48	—	Proposed
200 North Riverside Plaza	650 (198)	50	2015	Under Construction	Also known as River Point
Lakeshore East Building 2-O	650 (198)	—	—	Proposed	Considered to be a stale proposal
435 North Park Drive	635 (194)	54	2015	Under Construction
111 West Wacker	630 (192)	59	2014	Under Construction	Formerly the Waterview Tower, which was planned to rise 1,047 feet (319 m)
222 West Randolph Street	575 (175)	50	—	Proposed
Lakeshore East Building 2-A	551 (168)	—	2010	Proposed	Considered to be a stale proposal
AMLI Rivernorth Tower	543 (165)	50	2013	Under construction
400 West Randolph	—	50	—	Proposed
One South Halsted	—	50	2014	Approved

* Table entries with dashes (—) indicate that information regarding expected building heights, floor counts or dates of completion has not yet been released.

Timeline of tallest buildings

Current Chicago Board of Trade Building

Masonic Temple

This is a list of buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Chicago. Of all the buildings that have held the title, only the Willis Tower has also held the title of world's tallest building.

Name	Years as tallest	Height ft ([m)	Floors	Notes
First Holy Name Cathedral	1854–1869	0245 !245 (75)	1
Saint Michael's Church	1869–1885	0290 !290 (88)	1
Chicago Board of Trade Building	1885–1895	0322 !322 (98)	10
Masonic Temple Building	1895–1899	0302 !302 (92)	21
Montgomery Ward Building	1899–1922	0394 !394 (120)	22
Wrigley Building	1922–1924	0438 !438 (134)	30
Chicago Temple Building	1924–1930	0568 !568 (173)	23
Chicago Board of Trade Building	1930–1965	0605 !605 (184)	44
Richard J. Daley Center	1965–1969	0648 !648 (198)	32
John Hancock Center	1969–1973	1127 !1,127 (344)	100
Aon Center	1973–1974	1136 !1,136 (346)	83
Willis Tower	1974–present	1451 !1,451 (442)	108

See also

• Architecture of Chicago
• List of Chicago Landmarks
• List of cities with most skyscrapers

Notes

A. ^{^} This building was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, and replaced by the current cathedral of the same name in 1875.

B. ^{^} The clock tower on this building was removed in 1895, allowing a shorter building to become the tallest in the city.

C. ^{^} The Masonic Temple, built in 1892, became the tallest in Chicago three years later when the Board of Trade Building had its clock tower removed.

D. ^{^} This building is currently 282 feet (86 m) tall, following the removal of a pyramid top and sculpture.

References

General

• "Tallest Buildings in Chicago". CTBUH. Retrieved 2012-06-25. 

Specific

External links

• Diagram of Chicago skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage.com