Wrigley Building, 510 N. Michigan Avenue, Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White, 1921, view from southeast. (Contemporary postcard, collection of Thomas Leslie) The Wrigley Building’s most striking features, however, were the […]
Category: architecture
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 2
Delaware Block, 36 W. Randolph. Wheelock and Thomas, 1874 (extended later). (Photo by Thomas Leslie) Chicago’s soil was a hurdle to tall construction regardless of building type. Chicago rested up […]
Skyscraper of the Day, Part 1
Mather Tower, 75 E. Wacker. Herbert Hugh Riddle, 1928. View from north. (Photograph by Thomas Leslie) No tower had been built to such slender proportions, and there were few opportunities […]
Reconsidering the Chicago School of architecture
Thomas Leslie, author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, recently spoke with WGLT-FM public radio about what architecture says not only about a city’s history, but about interpreting an urban identity. “Chicago skyscrapers […]
The Chronicle of Higher Education features Chicago Skyscrapers
Thomas Leslie, author of the new University of Illinois Press book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, is the subject of a Chronicle of Higher Education feature. Thomas Leslie likes to warn his […]
Chicago architecture from the Great Fire to the Great Depression
Thomas Leslie discusses Chicago Skyscrapers on PBS affiliate WTTW’s Chicago Tonight. […]
Where was the birthplace of the skyscraper?
Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 author Thomas Leslie was on hand for the Association of Preservation Technology Western Great Lakes Chapter and Construction History Society of America’s Skyscraper Symposium. The daylong event […]
Willis Tower or One World Trade Center: Which is Taller?
Is the soon-to-be-finished One World Trade Center the tallest building in the United States? Thomas Leslie, author of Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, says maybe not. Leslie wrote an op-ed for the […]
Chicago Skyscrapers in New York
Thomas Leslie signs copies of his new book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934 at Book Expo America in New York. […]
SynergiCity at the Chicago Architecture Foundation
If you’re looking for something to do in Chicago this month, the Chicago Architecture Foundation (CAF) has an exhibit called SynergiCity: Reinventing the Postindustrial City which roughly coincides with our publication of […]
Book trailer for Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934
Thomas Leslie’s forthcoming book Chicago Skyscrapers, 1871-1934, highlights architectural progress in the skyscraper’s birthplace from the Great Fire to the Great Depression. During this time, such iconic landmarks as the Chicago Tribune Tower, the […]
For fans of “How It’s Made”
LASNews, the newsletter of the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, linked to this This Old Hall, a five-minute video detailing the restoration work currently in progress […]