Built: 1985-1989 Designed by: Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill Type: Skyscraper Stories: 37 Maximum Height: 757 feet / 231 meters Location: 200 East Illinois Street, Chicago, United States
H ow can you not like a skyscraper with flying buttresses? It's the ultimate blending of historic ambitions to reach the sky, and the modern-day ability to fulfill those ambitions. Most people are amazed when they find out that Chicago's NBC Tower is a child of the 1980's. Its vertical lines, rounded edges, and tiered setbacks scream "Art Moderne" (a streamlined form of Art Deco). It's a skyscraper right out of a Dick Tracey comic.
The building's entrances are great, as well. Detailed brass grillework contrasts with the dark green marble of the base. That dark green color continues up the building with the spandrels, but those are only colored concrete, not granite. Still, the way the entire narrow edges of the front and back of the building bow outward help reinforce the ship's prow effect that the building has when seen slicing through clouds on a foggy day. With the accent floodlights on it's like a giant limestone cutter moving through the night.
Alternate address: 454 North Columbus Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60611
Architect: Adrian Smith.
Smith also designed the lampposts on the sidewalks surrounding the tower.
Before Cityfront Center and this building were erected, this area was filled with vacant lots, warehouses, and even a sugar refinery as late as the mid-1980's.
This building was inspired by 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York.
WMAQ radio and television were located in the Merchandise Mart before moving into the NBC Tower in 1989.
The illunimated peacock at the top of the tower was first switched on by NBC president Bob Wright, at the direction of network Tom Brokaw.
This is the building is the home to such as The Jenny Jones Show, and the Jerry Springer Show.
This building has 850,000 square feet of rentable space.
Four floors of this tower are designed for radio and television broadcasting.
Height to roof: 617 feet
Height to the tip of the spire: 757 feet
October 20, 1989: The illuminated NBC peacock at the apex of the tower is lit for the first time.
The NBC peacock logo at the top of the tower. It lights up at night.
Did You Know?
This was one of the filming locations for the Nicholas Cage movie The Weatherman. The WSNS (channels 44 and 45) TV studio was used for the New York network studio scenes.
Mark Bell
Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 @ 6:25pm
Rating: Four stars. Has a classic look to its form...similar to the Rockefeller Complex in NYC. It's well resolved and the exterior color gives it a prominence and almost timelessness which should make it look good in a 100 years from now!
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New York, United States
Mark Bell
Four stars.