Bookable
An Apollonaut travel guide
A city of towers.
An introduction to Chicago’s lakefront and skyline, seen from the 94th floor of 875 North Michigan Avenue.
On this page
Read the city from above
From the deck, the city’s street grid runs inland from Lake Michigan, with Lake Shore Drive and the beaches along the shore. Navy Pier reaches out into the lake to the east.
A guide can give context without turning a neighbourhood into a backdrop. Notice how towers cluster along Michigan Avenue and the river, and how the grid continues to the horizon.
Structure you can see
The tower’s tapering form and X-braces were designed so that the outer walls carry much of the load. The building’s own history notes that its frame took enough steel for 33,000 cars.
Begin with a detail and ask how it was designed, built and maintained. A photograph alone cannot tell you who raised a steel beam or the conditions in which they worked.
A 360 CHICAGO chapter
The observation deck shows one way to understand Chicago: from above, where the shape of the lakefront and the grid make sense together.
Look at the meeting of the two: a tower built for offices and homes, and a deck that opens the view to visitors.
Make room for context
Pair this reading with the tower’s history and the Journal. This is an introduction for visitors, not a claim that our team manages these places or represents the building or the deck.
Read at the source
Sources & further reading
Links lead to the original publishers.
