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Check out these links to read more about the real places:

35 East Wacker Drive (Jewelers Building)

City of Chicago Landmarks info about 35 E. Wacker Dr.

Illinois Institute of Technology - Skyline Panorama as seen from the offices of Murphy/Jahn in the cupola atop the Jeweler's Building

860 Lake Shore Drive Apartments

City of Chicago Landmarks info about 860-880 Lake Shore Dr.

Rich Lewis' page dedicated to 860 Lake Shore Dr.

Mies van der Rohe: Lake Shore Drive Apartments, by Werner Blaser, Birkhäuser (1999)

Aon Center

Glass Steel and Stone - Aon Center article

Aon World Headquarters PDF Factsheet

The building plans to open a new rooftop observatory

Aqua Tower

Review of Aqua Tower in the Guardian

The first eighteen floors of the tower are the Radisson Blu hotel

Aqua Tower was named a finalist for best tall building by the Center for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat

Excerpt from a video about the construction of the building

 

Auditorium Building

Auditorium Theater website - historical timeline

City of Chicago Landmarks info about the Auditorium Building

Roosevelt University website - campus history

WBEZ examines the difficulty supporting the heavy building on Chicago's viscous clay soil

The Auditorium Building, by Jay Pridmore, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Pomegranate (2003)

The Chicago Auditorium Building, by Joseph M. Siry, University Of Chicago Press (2004)

Bahá’í Temple

The official website for the Bahai House of Worship

Other Bahai Temples around the world

Chicago Board of Trade Building

The Trading Floor Gallery is no longer open to general visitors, but can be seen on the Chicago Architecture Foundation tour

Chicago Mercantile Exchange history of the Board of Trade

A history of the hand signals used in open floor trading at the Board of Trade

The Chicago Board of Trade Building, by Edward Keegan, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Pomegranate (2005)

Chicago Harbor Light

Chicago Public Library history of Chicago Harbor

Lighthouse overview at Lighthouses of the Great Lakes

Chicago Tribune Tower

Chicago Tribune article about the Tower

City of Chicago Landmarks info about Tribune Tower

In 2018 the building was converted to condos and a supertall tower planned just east of the building

Urban Explorer takes a look at the building's picturesque features

S.R. Crown Hall

Recent restoration of Crown Hall by IIT

Mies van der Rohe Society - dedicated to preservation of Mies' buildings at IIT

City of Chicago Landmarks info about Crown Hall

Mies van der Rohe: Crown Hall, by Werner Blaser, Birkhäuser (2001)

Elevated “L” Train

Official CTA website

Chicago-L.org, extensive website with information about history, maps and cars of the Chicago Elevated system

Racers vie for the fastest time visiting all the stations in the L system

The Chicago "L", by Greg Borzo, Arcadia (2007)

Getty Tomb

City of Chicago Landmarks info about the Getty Tomb

Graveyards of Chicago - Graceland: www.graveyards.com

Grosse Point Lighthouse

Grosse Point history at Seeing the Light

National Historic Landmark nomination for Grosse Point Lighthouse

The Grosse Point Lighthouse, by Donald J. Terras, Windy City Press (1995)

Inland Steel Building

Encyclopedia of Chicago entry about the Inland Steel Company

City of Chicago Landmarks info about the Inland Steel Building

Official website of the Inland Steel Building

John Hancock Center

The official John Hancock Observatory website

Fazlur Khan, engineer of the tower

WTB: the World's Tallest Buildings

Nalyd's Skyscraper Page

Building Blocks: The John Hancock Center, by Ezra Stoller, Princeton Architectural Press (2000)

The Cloudbase Chronicles: Life at the Top, by Harry W. Budge III, Outskirts Press (2009)

Lake Point Tower

Lake Point Tower facts at A View on Cities

Cité, a restaurant on the 70th floor

Rubloff Residential Properties, owner of the building

Marina City

Great Buildings Online entry for Marina City

Marina City article on Galinsky.com

The House of Blues website

The Hotel Sax Chicago website

Metropolitan Correctional Center

Visiting regulations for the prison

Photos of the building on Boiteaoutils blog

In 2012 two prisoners escaped using a rope made from dental floss and bed sheets

Michigan Avenue Bridge (DuSable Bridge)

City of Chicago Landmarks info about Michigan Ave Bridge

Magnificent Mile history at A View on Cities

McCormick Bridgehouse Museum is in the southwest tower of the bridge

Ohio House Motel

Ohio House Motel website

More about Googie architecture at Space Age City

Lots of photos of Googie signs and buildings on Roadside Peek

Picasso Sculpture

WTTW story about the unveiling of the sculpture

Chicago Tribune article about the history of the sculpture

Gwendolyn Brooks reads her Chicago Picasso poem, written for the sculpture's dedication

Prentice Women's Hospital

Bertrand Goldberg website history of the hospital's construction

Landmarks Illinois listed the building as one of 2012 Ten Most Endangered Historic Places

Timelapse of the building's demolition in 2013

The building was one of many brutalist-style buildings demolished in recent years

Pritzker Pavilion

Millennium Park website page about the Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The Pritzker Pavilion is the home of the Grant Park Orchestra

Reliance Building

Description of the Reliance Building cleaning and restoration

See photos of the building from 1994

City of Chicago Landmarks info about the Reliance Building

A historic photo of the building and a little more history

The Reliance Building, by Jay Pridmore, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Pomegranate (2003)

Sears / Willis Tower

The official Sears Tower website

Chicago Public Library facts about the Sears Tower

Fazlur Khan, engineer of the tower

WTB: the World's Tallest Buildings

Nalyd's Skyscraper Page

Sears Tower (A Building Book), by Jay Pridmore, Chicago Architecture Foundation, Pomegranate (2002)

Sun Times Building

Sun Times entry at Glass Steel and Stone

The building was demolished in 2004 to make way for the Trump International Hotel

Trump Tower

The official websites for the Trump Tower hotel, and condos

Chicago Tribune articles and info graphics about the construction of the tower

The tower draws over 19 million gallons of water from the Chicago River each day to cool the building

Water Tower

The Great Chicago Fire and the Web of Memory, at the Chicago Historical Society

Chicago Tribune article about the Great Chicago Fire

The Water Tower's crenellations inspired the design of early White Castle restaurants

Watertowers of the World: members.tripod.com/~watertowers

Wrigley Building

Zeller Realty history of the Wrigley Building

In 2011 the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. sold the iconic building

Wrigley Field

The official website of the Chicago Cubs

Facts and figures about Wrigley Field from Ballparks.com

See a larger paper model of Wrigley Field made by Bookshelf Models