rbranstrom

Chiscape

Downtown in the City of Big Shoulders, from the Chicago River northward to Lake Shore Drive, is the Magnificent Mile. The stretch of Michigan Avenue is aptly na...
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Downtown in the City of Big Shoulders, from the Chicago River northward to Lake Shore Drive, is the Magnificent Mile. The stretch of Michigan Avenue is aptly named, as it boasts the city's most stunning architecture.
Taken from the Riverwalk, this photo includes two famous landmarks: the Wrigley building (left), a 1920s skyscraper with a clocktower, and the Tribune Tower (right). The former, a move by William Wrigley, Jr., of chewing-gum fame, pioneered business development in the district and was the first building in the city to feature air conditioning. The original Tribune Tower was constructed in 1868 but was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire a few years later. In 1922, on its 75th anniversary, the Chicago Tribune held a competition for the design of a new downtown headquarters, which was to be "the most beautiful building in the world." The winning Gothic Revival structure is now a popular icon, and I must report that it does look better in person.
Impressive though these structures are, they are just the beginning of the incredible Magnificent Mile.
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