Welcome to the Tribune Tower — a building that exists because a newspaper had too much money and wanted everyone to know it.
In 1922, the Chicago Tribune held an international architecture competition for their new headquarters. They wanted — and I'm quoting here — "the most beautiful and distinctive office building in the world." Their words. They offered $100,000 in prize money — about $1.8 million today — and got 260 entries from 23 countries.
The winner was this Gothic Revival tower designed by Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells. It looks like a cathedral had a baby with a skyscraper. Very pretty. Very safe. Very... expected.
Here's where it gets spicy — second place went to Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, whose design was modern, elegant, and — according to many architects then and now — significantly better. The Tribune chose the Gothic design because it felt more "permanent" and "dignified." Saarinen's design was too new, too risky. They picked the safe choice.
Architects
are STILL mad about this. A hundred years later. There are architecture professors who bring this up like it happened last week.
But the REALLY weird part of this building is the stones. Look closely at the base — there are rocks embedded in the walls from famous structures around the world. The Parthenon. The Great Wall of China. Westminster Abbey. The Alamo. The Berlin Wall. Over 150 fragments
