463-foot-tall, 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper was the home of the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Media, and Tribune Publishing

How to Get There

Overview

The Tribune Tower is a 463-foot-tall (141 m), 36-floor neo-Gothic skyscraper located in Chicago. Built between 1923 and 1925. The tower was the home of the Chicago Tribune, Tribune Media, and Tribune Publishing. It is listed as a Chicago Landmark and is a contributing property to the Michigan-Wacker Historic District. The original Tribune Tower was built in 1868, but was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871.

Design

By 1922 the neo-Gothic skyscraper had become an established design tactic, with the first important so-called "American Perpendicular Style" at Cass Gilbert's Woolworth Building of 1913. This was a late example, perhaps the last important example, and criticized for its perceived historicism. Construction on the Tribune Tower was completed in 1925 and reached a height of 462 feet (141 m) above ground. The ornate buttresses surrounding the peak of the tower are especially visible when the tower is lit at night.

As was the case with most of Hood's projects, the sculptures and decorations were made by the American artist Rene Paul Chambellan. The tower features carved images of Robin Hood (Hood) and a howling dog (Howells) near the main entrance to commemorate the architects. The top of the tower is designed after the Tour de beurre (″butter tower″) of the Rouen Cathedral in France, which is characteristic of the Late-Gothic style, without a spire but with a crown-shaped top.

Rene Paul Chambellan contributed his sculpture talents to the buildings ornamentation, gargoyles and the famous Aesops' Screen over the main entrance doors. Rene Chambellan worked on other projects with Raymond Hood including the American Radiator Building and Rockefeller Center in New York City.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Tribune Tower", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0