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The �糵���� skyline is a beautiful smattering of 100-year-old granite highrises and towering glass behemoths—and everything in between. The Second City’s skyscraper history goes back 140 years, with the first modern skyscraper rising 10 stories above the city’s downtown Loop neighborhood. The new metal framed building sparked a that lasted more than a century—and set the stage for the and its influence on American architecture, of which Illinois Tech’s has .

While the first skyscraper is long gone (the Home Insurance Building was demolished in 1931), its mark on the �糵���� skyline and �糵���� architecture is unmistakable—and more buildings continue climbing above the shores of Lake Michigan. 

Here’s a look at the 10 tallest buildings in �糵����:

Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower)

1,451 feet with 108 floors; Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), completed 1974

The blocky, black aluminum-and-glass structure dominates the skyline as the former tallest building in the world, and remains the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Trump International Hotel and Tower

1,388 feet with 98 floors; SOM, completed 2009

The bright façade and easy curves of Trump Tower sits at a bend in the �糵���� River. Like Willis Tower, it was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

The St. Regis �糵���� (formerly Wanda Vista)

1,191 feet with 101 floors; Studio Gang, completed 2020

The —Jeanne Gang, a former professor at Illinois Tech’s College of Architecture—the building features three rising towers with an unmistakable wavy façade.

Aon Center (formerly Standard Oil Building)

1,136 feet with 83 floors; partnership between Edward Durell Stone and Perkins and Will, completed 1973

This white granite, boxy skyscraper rises high in stark contrast to the steel-and-glass skyline surrounding it just north of Millenium Park. The structure held the title of �糵����’s tallest skyscraper for just one year.

875 North Michigan Avenue (formerly John Hancock Center)

1,127 feet with 100 floors; designed by SOM, completed 1969

The black tower looming over the Magnificent Mile can be considered a cousin to the Willis Tower, as both were created by the same design duo. Twin white antenna towers sit atop both behemoths, which has become just as iconic as the skyscrapers. 

Franklin Center (formerly AT&T Corporate Center)

1,007 feet with 61 floors; SOM, completed 1989

�糵����’s sixth-tallest skyscraper showcases a granite façade, separating itself from the mostly glass-and-steel skyscrapers on this list while harkening back to towers of the 1930s.

Two Prudential Plaza

995 feet with 64 floors; Loebl Schlossman & Hackl, completed 1990

The tower, which was connected to a smaller sister tower to create “One Two Pru,” sits in the morning shadow of the Aon Center, though it still stands tall in the Loop.

One �糵���� East Tower

973 feet with 78 stories; collaboration between Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, completed 2022

The tower, the taller of two built on a former parking lot, sits west of the Magnificent Mile in the River North neighborhood. It features blue glass and a steadily slimming profile.

311 South Wacker Drive

961 feet with 65 stories; Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, completed 1990

The tallest reinforced concrete building in the world when it was completed, the building takes aspects of �糵���� favorites such as the “crown” adorning the roof, similar to the city’s iconic Tribune Tower.

NEMA �糵����

896 feet with 76 stories; Rafael Viñoly, completed 2019

Sitting just south of Grant Park, NEMA �糵����’s bundled tube design is reminiscent of the Willis Tower design that came nearly half a century before. It sits just outside of the Loop, making it the tallest building in �糵����’s South Side.

These 10 buildings are only a handful of the more than 130 skyscrapers in �糵����, all of which are a minimum of 492 feet tall or about 40 stories, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. 

Fittingly, a collaboration between the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat and the College of Architecture is addressing rapid urbanization through its most prominent architectural feature: the tall building. 

The bolsters the College of Architecture’s long history of innovation in skyscraper design and engineering and will focus on rigorous research and coursework. It also will provide students an opportunity to take part in traveling studios and international design competitions, as well as receive access to research funding, conferences, and exclusive internships with some of the world’s leading firms—all of which add to Illinois Tech’s lasting legacy on �糵���� architecture and beyond.