Downtown Chicago

12 photos · 2012–2019

12 photographs tagged Downtown Chicago, 2012–2019.

Ronny’s Original Steak House neon sign and booths inside the Chicago Loop restaurant. — Ronny’s Original Steak House in Chicago’s Loop is a cafeteria-style steakhouse established in 1963. The restaurant operated as an affordable, quick-service dining spot for downtown workers, theatergoers, and travelers. Its neon window sign and booth seating are part of the restaurant’s mid-century Loop dining character.

Jewelers Center neon sign at 5 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s Loop. — The Jewelers Center sign on South Wabash Avenue identifies the Mallers Building at 5 South Wabash in Chicago’s Loop. The building is a central address in Jewelers Row, a downtown district known for jewelry wholesalers, retailers, repair shops, and gem dealers. The center houses independent jewelry businesses offering sales, custom design, and repair services.

Downtown Chicago high-rises and historic commercial buildings in the Loop. — Downtown Chicago high-rises in and near the Loop, Chicago, include historic masonry commercial buildings and later office and residential towers. The Loop is Chicago’s central business district and contains a dense concentration of workplaces, hotels, residences, and retail space. This August 2015 cityscape records the varied building types that define the downtown core.

Chicago River and illuminated downtown skyline at night featuring Marina City towers and historic buildings. — Marina City rises along the Chicago River at 300 North State Street, completed in 1964 to a design by architect Bertrand Goldberg. Its twin cylindrical towers reach 587 feet across 61 floors, combining apartments with a marina, theater, and parking within the same complex. The Wrigley Building stands nearby at 400-410 North Michigan Avenue, built in two phases between 1920 and 1924 for the William Wrigley Jr. Company and clad in glazed terra cotta. Trump International Hotel & Tower, completed in 2009 from designs by architect Adrian Smith, reaches 1,388 feet across 98 floors, ranking among the tallest buildings along the river.

Chicago Loop rooftops and streets near the Palmer House hotel. — Rooftops and streets near the Palmer House are in Chicago’s Loop. The Palmer House Hilton occupies a historic hotel site on East Monroe Street first opened by Potter Palmer in 1871 and rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire. The surrounding blocks contain early twentieth-century commercial buildings used for offices, hotels, retail, and building services in the downtown core.

Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower stand beside the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. — The Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower line Michigan Avenue at the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. The early-20th-century landmarks sit beside later office and residential towers in the Near North Side and Loop river corridor. The Chicago River links these downtown districts and carries bridge, boat, and pedestrian traffic through the center of the city.

Loews Chicago Hotel construction rises near the Chicago River and Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago. — Loews Chicago Hotel construction rises near the Chicago River in the Streeterville area of downtown Chicago. The hotel site is near North Park Drive and East North Water Street, close to the river’s route toward Lake Michigan. Wacker Drive follows the south bank of the river as a two-level downtown roadway designed to separate local access from through traffic.

Downtown Chicago skyline at night with Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center among illuminated high-rises. — Downtown Chicago skyline at night includes Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center among the high-rises of the Loop and Near North Side. The towers are major reference points in Chicago’s central business district and lakefront skyline. The view dates to March 2014, before the John Hancock Center was renamed 875 North Michigan Avenue.

190 South LaSalle, Marina City, and 875 North Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. — 190 South LaSalle Street in Chicago's Loop stands among downtown high-rises, with Marina City to the right and 875 North Michigan Avenue near the lakefront. The postmodern office tower at 190 South LaSalle was designed by Johnson/Burgee Architects and completed in 1987. Marina City, designed by Bertrand Goldberg and completed in the 1960s, combined apartments, parking, offices, retail, and entertainment in a major mixed-use complex on the Chicago River.

Trump Tower and Marina City stand among downtown Chicago high-rises near the Chicago River. — Trump International Hotel and Tower and Marina City stand within the downtown Chicago skyline near the Chicago River. The mixed-use Trump tower was completed in 2009 and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Marina City, completed in the 1960s, is a pair of residential towers designed by Bertrand Goldberg. Lake Michigan and the John Hancock Center are visible beyond the central business district.

Lake Street elevated 'L' tracks cross Dearborn Street in Chicago's Loop. — Lake Street elevated 'L' tracks run above Lake Street at Dearborn Street in Chicago's Loop. The structure is part of the CTA's Loop Elevated, the rail circuit that carries rapid transit through the central business district. Built in stages in the late 19th century, Chicago's elevated system remains a core connection between downtown and surrounding neighborhoods.

The State Street Bridge crosses the Chicago River, with the Marina City towers visible to the west in downtown Chicago. — The State Street Bridge spans the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, connecting the Loop to the Near North Side. Completed in 1949, this bascule bridge replaced an earlier structure and is a vital artery for vehicular and pedestrian traffic. To the west, the distinctive Marina City towers, designed by Bertrand Goldberg and completed in 1964, rise above the riverfront. These mixed-use buildings, with their unique cylindrical design, were a pioneering development in urban living and remain a prominent feature of the Chicago skyline.

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