311 South Wacker Drive as viewed from the 57th floor of the Chase Tower

311 South Wacker Drive
Information
Location	311 South Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois
Status	Complete
Constructed	1988-1990 [1]
Roof	961 feet (293 meters)
Technical details
Floor count	65
Floor area	1.4 million sq ft. [2]
Companies
Architect	Kohn Pederson Fox Associates HKS
Developer	AT&T Co./Stein & Company

311 South Wacker Drive in Chicago is a post-modern 65-story skyscraper completed in 1990. At 961 feet (293 m) tall, it is the sixth tallest building in Chicago and the fourteenth tallest in the United States. Once the tallest reinforced concrete building in the world from 1990-1992, it was surpassed by the Central Plaza in Hong Kong.[3] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2112 × 2816 pixel, file size: 711 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I Ryan Kirby am the author of this photo and release it to the public domain for all fair public use. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2112 × 2816 pixel, file size: 711 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I Ryan Kirby am the author of this photo and release it to the public domain for all fair public use. ... O1 Chase Tower Chase Tower in Chicago is a 60 story skyscraper completed in 1969. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (768 × 1024 pixel, file size: 386 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): List of tallest buildings in the... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... All three levels of Wacker Drive, east of Columbus Drive, including a ramp between the upper and lower (middle) levels Wacker Drive is a major street in Chicago, Illinois, United States, running along the downtown side of the Chicago River. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Central Plaza is the second tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong (tallest as of 2001) after IFC, Hong Kong Phase 2. ...

The building also contains three levels of underground parking. The building contains both retails and commercial tenants.

Design

Lobby

The lobby is an impressive two-level (one below ground) 85 foot (26 m) high glass ceilinged "winter garden" with glazed palm trees and a fountain. Raymond Kaskey's bronze sculpture "Gem of the Lakes" looks over the garden from the Wacker entrance. It depicts a large Neptunian figure drying himself over a seashell fountain. [4] Raymond Kaskey (born 1943) is an American sculptor. ...

Crown

On top of the building is a 105 ft tall translucent tall cylinder, which is surrounded by 4 other, smaller cylinders.[5] This makes it is among the most visible Chicago skyscraper at night, as its "crown" is brightly illuminated. The "crown" is by some accounts supposed to represent the engagement ring given by the architect to his wife. A yellow gold wedding ring and a single-diamond, gold-banded engagement ring. ...

Park

311 South Wacker contains the largest area of green space in the Chicago Loop. This park is used to host local farmer markets, musical events, and various art and cultural festivals. The Loop is what locals call the historical center of downtown Chicago. ...

Trivia

• Referred to informally by some Chicagoans as "The White Castle Building", since the building's crown does resemble the rook found on signs for White Castle, the fast food chain. Other local nicknames include "The Wedding Cake Building" and "The Bart Simpson Building" both of which reference the lighted crown.
• The building is to the northwest surrounded by a grassy area, commonly used as a lounging and public lunch area during warm months, and to the southwest by a parking lot. This land was originally to be occupied by two more towers, identical in design to the first.
• The five cylinders on top are lit at night by 1,852 fluorescent tubes.
• The lower level of the winter garden was designed to connect via underground passageway to Union Station.
• The lantern at the top changes colors for various holidays and special events.
• The tallest building in the world known only by its street address.
• During the process of construction, the architect's wife died of cancer.

Photo of a White Castle Cheeseburger box. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Bart and his sister Lisa as news anchors. ...

See also

• List of tallest buildings in the United States
• List of tallest buildings in Chicago
• List of tallest buildings and structures in the world
• List of tallest buildings in the world

20 tallest buildings in the United States U.S. Bank Tower Columbia Center Chicago, IL: Sears Tower AT&T Corp. ... Downtown Chicago from the northwest Chicago has the tallest building in the United States, the Sears Tower, and many slightly shorter buildings, almost all in the Loop or along the Magnificent Mile. ... The CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario is the worlds tallest freestanding structure on land at 553. ... Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building, is located in Taipei City, (Republic of China). ...

References

• Emporis listing
• Official Building Website

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Coordinates: 41°52′40″N, 87°38′08″W Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Chicago, looking North from State and Washington Streets This article is about the history of Chicago, Illinois. ... The neighborhoods of Chicago are less well-defined than Chicagos seventy-seven community areas. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Landmarks of Chicago. ... Buckingham Fountain, donated to Chicago in 1927 by Kate Buckingham Anish Kapoors Cloud Gate (commonly known as The Bean) at Chicagos Millennium Park. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... 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