O ne of the first skyscrapers to defy the flat stone wall convention on the Michigan Avenue cliff, 1130 South Michigan is an unusual bright spot marking the transition from the old Michigan Avenue aesthetic to the new. The building is designed with three radiating spokes, giving residents a variety of possible views of the city, Lake Michigan, and the Museum Campus. While most of the buildings in the area that preceded it are dour gray affairs, this one emphasizes white, white, white, and makes no apologies for its unusual blocky features. Even the top is adorned with a gleaming white cube that houses mechanical equipment. That is then topped with a set of white lights that wink in the night. Though they resemble the beacons used to warn aircraft away from skyscrapers, in reality they are most likely an attention-getting gimmick, since the lights do not appear to be regulation color, technology, or intensity.
3 July, 1992 - A freak storm smashes more than 100 of the building's windows. Some were actually broken by workers on scaffolds outside who, fearing for their lives, broke the windows and scrambled inside to safety.
New York, United States
