Known for its world-renowned architecture, Chicago has more than its fair share of stellar buildings and towers. From the Willis Tower downtown, to the Frederick C. Robie House out in the neighborhoods, famous architects keep coming back to put their mark on our skyline. We have dozens of iconic buildings around our city, but there can only be one that is the best!

In the spirit of March Madness, it’s time to figure out exactly which building is the favorite. After hundreds and hundreds of votes, the final two juggernauts are left standing on either side of Michigan Ave just north of the Chicago River.

Voting will be open all weekend until Monday morning when we will announce the official Champion of Urbanize Chicago’s People’s Choice Best Building 2024.

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(1) Tribune Tower

Tribune TowerSCB

Stats:

435 N. Michigan Ave

Height: 463 feet

Constructed: 1925

Architect: Howells and Hood

Tribune TowerChicago Architecture Center

As the winning submission to the Chicago Tribune’s international design competition, Howells and Hood’s neo-Gothic design features soaring vertical lines, flying buttresses, and rich ornamentation. At the base of the building, fragments of 149 famous buildings are integrated into the facade, including the Berlin Wall, the Taj Mahal, the Parthenon, Hagia Sophia, and Great Wall of China to name a few. In 2018, the Chicago Tribune moved out and developers CIM Group and Golub & Company converted the building into 162 condominiums. Solomon Cordwell Buenz and Vinci Hamp Architects led the conversion.

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(2) Wrigley Building

Wrigley BuildingZeller Realty Group

Stats:

400-410 N. Michigan Ave

Height: 438 feet

Constructed: 1924

Architect: Graham, Anderson, Probst, & White

Wrigley BuildingChicago Architecture Center

Originally built for the headquarters of chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr.’s company, the Wrigley Building overlooks where Michigan Ave crosses the Chicago River. Modeled after the Seville Cathedral’s Giralda Tower, the modern steel frame construction is clad in an extravagantly-detailed ornate facade made up of six different shades of white terracotta. 

 

Cast your vote below!