Tribute to Tribune Tower

I remember the first time I saw this magnificent building because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing in downtown Chicago of all places! It reminded me of a castle or a very stately building from another era. This is, “Tribune Tower”.

Built in 1925, this Neo-Gothic style structure originally came about by somewhat of a publicity stunt.  The newspaper, “The Chicago Tribune” was celebrating its 75th anniversary in 1922, and wanted to have a brand new headquarters to commemorate the stellar occasion. With what could perhaps be considered as a genius marketing campaign, an architectural  contest was held to see who could come up with, “the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world.”

For the time period, a whopping $50,000 prize was offered to the winning architectural group.  That honor was awarded to New York architects John Howells and Raymond Hood.  The building is 464 feet tall, and you will love this:  to pay homage to the winning architectural group, there are carved statues of Robin Hood (for Raymond Hood) and a howling dog (for John Howells) at the entrance of the building.  I don’t think I could have made that up if I tried!