Unspecified/General

Instantly recognisable for the giant X-shaped braces running up its sides, the 100-storey tower at 875 North Michigan Avenue has anchored the Chicago skyline since 1969. It was conceived as the John Hancock Center, financed by the insurance company whose name it carried for half a century, and designed by architect Bruce Graham with structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. Their exterior braced-tube system let the building rise without a forest of interior columns and gave it the tapering, obelisk-like profile that defines it. The project was not a smooth one. Construction stalled in 1967 when engineers found that the foundations were settling far more than expected, a setback that bankrupted the original developer before John Hancock took over and finished the job. When it topped out in 1968 it was the second-tallest building in the world after the Empire State Building. It reaches 1,128 feet at the roof and around 1,500 feet to the tips of its antennas. For nearly three decades it also held the title of the world's highest residence, and its twin rooftop masts give the city one of its most powerful broadcast perches. The tower was an early example of mixed use on a grand scale, stacking shops, parking, offices, roughly 700 apartments, restaurants, an observatory and broadcast equipment in a single structure. A sky lobby on the 44th floor holds what is often cited as the highest indoor swimming pool in the United States, and 1,632 steps connect the ground to the 94th-floor observatory, climbed each year in a charity race. The restaurant near the summit, a long-standing fixture for visitors, drew diners for the view until it closed in late 2023. The insurer asked for its name to be removed in 2018, leaving the building known officially by its address, though plenty of locals still call it the Hancock, and most people come for the observation deck or simply to stand at the base and look up. Architecture enthusiasts rate it among the landmark works of the second Chicago school, and it features on most walking tours of the Magnificent Mile.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 875 N Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, United States

Opening Date: 02/03/1969