181 West Madison Street
- Architect
- César Pelli
- Year
- 1990
- City
- Chicago, IL
181 West Madison Street is César Pelli's only completed tower in Chicago, built in 1990 for developer Miglin-Beitler Developments. At 680 feet and 50 floors, the glassy office building is best known for its recessed, illuminated crown, which glows white at the corners and changes color for holidays.
the building
The recessed crown. The tower's signature move is its crown, set back from the building's edges and lit white at the corners, with the lighting scheme changed for various holidays through the year.
the architect
César Pelli, a major internationally significant architect, completed only one tower in Chicago: this one, built for Miglin-Beitler in 1990.
significance
The same developer and architect had, in 1989, unveiled plans for the nearby Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle, a proposed 2,000-foot, 125-story tower that would have been the tallest building in the world. A sluggish real estate market forced that project to be scrapped, leaving 181 West Madison as Pelli's realized Chicago legacy instead.
nearby
- First Leiter Building
- New York Life Insurance Building, Chicago
- Chicago Stock Exchange Building
- Roanoke Building and Tower
- 19 South LaSalle Street
- Central YMCA Headquarters