Aqua
Built 2009
International
Emporis Skyscraper
Of The Year in 2009,
the building’s name
was inspired by
its undulating balconies
of which no two
are alike.
Photo by
Robert L. Segal
© R. L. Segal
Tribune Tower
Built 1922-1925
One of Chicago’s most famous structures, this 36-story skyscraper’s gothic design was the result of a competition in which 286 entries were submitted from around the world.
Photo by
Robert L. Segal
© R. L. Segal
Ceres atop Chicago’s Board of Trade Building
Built 1929
The three-story statue of Ceres, Goddess of Grain, crowns what was once Chicago’s tallest skyscraper.
Photo by
Robert L. Segal
© R. L. Segal
The Y-shaped Municipal Device of Chicago
The Y-shaped figure featured on the Chicago Theatre’s famous marquee represents the three branches of the Chicago River. The "Y" can be found on building facades, bridges, fences, and lamp posts throughout the City, sometimes with"I Will" displayed above it, and in other instances the Y is inverted to represent the reversed flow of the Chicago River.
Photo by
Robert L. Segal
© R. L. Segal
Chicago River, Main Branch
This 6-part composite panorama shows the optical center of the main branch of the Chicago River looking west as seen from a pedestrian path on a bridge along Lakeshore Drive. The Trump Tower (Chicago) is at center with Mies van der Rohe's IBM Building slightly to the left of center. On the left bank is the new Aqua Building. On the right bank is Streeterville and the north Loop. At the foot of the tallest structure on the far right is North Pier Docks on the Ogden Slip, home of Chicago Line Cruises.
Photo by mindfrieze
180 North Wacker from the Chicago River, Main and South Branches
This little 7-story building’s most interesting feature is only fully appreciated in the warmer months. That’s when a massive carpet of vines snake around the windows as if manicured, and the bright green foliage becomes the perfect contrast to the red exterior.
Photo by Johnson & McCormack
The old Sun-Times Building, now the site of the new 98-story Trump Tower Chicago
View from Chicago River, Main Branch
On the south bank of the River (left) is the Beaux Arts-style 360 North Michigan Avenue Building, formerly known as the London Guarantee Building, that was built in 1923 on an irregular-shaped site once occupied by the Fort Dearborn (1803-1856).
On the north bank (right) is Bertrand Goldbreg’s "the City within a City" – MarinaTowers, built 1959-1964.
Photo by
Johnson
& McCormack
Chicago River from the Lake Street Bridge
Photo by Mike Boehmer
"Daily Excursions to Drainage Canal"
The Chicago River and its tour cruises have significantly upgraded since 1905. During the middle of our last century popular "boat rides" carried passengers down the main branch, through the locks and along the lakefront. In 1980 two lawyers, Terry Johnson and Paul McCarthy, purchased the Betty Jean (similar in appearance to the boat you see below) and began a private charter business called Chicago from the Lake. A friend and client, the late James Bidwill of the Merchandise Mart and later Chairman of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, suggested an Architectual River Cruise tour, complete with a docent, for patrons of a large furniture convention... and thus a new industry was born. "CFL" moved to North Pier, added the Fort Dearborn, Marquette, and Innisfree to its fleet and became Chicago Line Cruises — "without question the best architectural tour available in Chicago: witty, informative, engaging" (Chicago Sun-Times). For a preview of what’s to come, see our Ceres Project.
12th Street Bascule Bridge, Chicago, 1905 / Library of Congress
