900 North Michigan

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name= 900 North Michigan


caption=
preceded=
year_built=
surpassed=
year_highest=
year_end=
plural=
location= 900 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago
status=
groundbreaking=
constructed= 1989
est-completion=
opening=
destroyed=
use= Mixed
antenna_spire=
roof= 871 ft (265 m)
top_floor=
floor_count= 66
floor_area=
elevator_count=
cost=
architect= Kohn Pederson Fox Associates
HKS
engineer=
contractor=
developer= Urban Retail Properties
owner=

900 North Michigan in Chicago is a skyscraper completed in 1989. At 871 feet (265 m) tall, it is currently the seventh tallest building in Chicago and the 25th tallest in the United States. It was developed by Urban Retail Properties in 1988 as an upscale sister to Water Tower Place, one block southeast, and was the second vertical mall built along the Magnificent Mile.

The building features a large, upscale shopping mall called 900 North Michigan Shops. Bloomingdales sits at the rear of its wide, six-story atrium, with other luxury shops and restaurants filling the rest. This is why it is commonly referred to as the "Bloomingdales Building". [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=900northmichigan-chicago-il-usa] The mall opened with Henri Bendel as a "junior anchor," since replaced by men's clothier Mark Shale. The layout of the retail area reflects lessons learned from Water Tower Place; the anchor's placement at the rear draws shoppers through the space and creates leasable space with valuable Michigan Avenue frontage, while the arrangement of escalators in parallel, rather than in zig-zags, directs foot traffic past more shops.

Offices originally occupied floors 21-28, but these were converted to condo units in 2007. The luxurious Four Seasons Hotel occupies the middle floors (32-46) of the tower. Floors 48-66 are part of the 132 East Delaware Residences, these 106 condominiums were part of the original building plan. A large 12-story parking garage, with retail on the ground level and a medical clinic atop, occupies the rear half of the block, facing Rush Street.

The exterior of the tower is clad in limestone and green glass which reflects the light. The building has a steel skeleton on which a concrete frame was made. Because the building's materials switched half way up, cranes had to stop working while new ones were constructed for the concrete. Four lit "lanterns" atop the structure give it a distinctive skyline presence. They change colors for the Christmas season. [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=900northmichigan-chicago-il-usa]

ee also

*List of buildings
*List of skyscrapers
*List of tallest buildings in Chicago
*List of tallest buildings in the United States
*World's tallest structures

Position in Chicago's skyline

References

* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=116825 Emporis listing]

External links

* [http://www.shop900.com 900 North Michigan Shops]
* [http://www.theresidencesat900.com/home.php The Residences at 900 North Michigan Avenue]
* [http://www.fourseasons.com/chicagofs/ Four Season Hotel Chicago]