Nov 30, 2022 - Things to Do
The best buildings in downtown Chicago tournament: Final Four
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Wrigley Building (left) and The Rookery Building. Photos: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
We're down to the four best downtown Chicago buildings!
- Another whopping day of your voting gets us to a Final Four matchup steeped in history.
The Wrigley Building vs. The Rookery
The Wrigley Building stood tall over Tribune Tower in their North Michigan Avenue Elite 8 matchup.
- It opened in 1921 as headquarters for chewing gum company Wrigley, becoming the city's first office building to boast air conditioning.
- Before that, Chicago had no major buildings north of the river.
The Rookery won a nail-biter over Goldberg's modern masterpiece, Marina Towers.
- Built in 1888 and designed by Daniel Burnham and John Root, The Rookery symbolized our rise from the ashes after the 1871 fire.
- Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned the lobby in 1905.
Merchandise Mart vs. Carbide and Carbon Building
The Merchandise Mart continues to defy the odds and pulverize its competition in our tournament — this time the Smurfit Stone building.
- The Mart, built in 1930 by Marshall Field & Co, is still the world's largest privately owned commercial building, at 4.2 million gross square feet.
- It had its own ZIP code up until 2008!
In an upset, the gilded Carbide and Carbon building blew Jeanne Gang's wavy Aqua out of the water.
- Built in 1929 by Daniel Burnham's sons, the building represents art deco at its finest.
- The Carbide and Carbon Co. developed the first dry cell battery.
🗳 Final Four voting is now underway! The polls close at 4:30pm.