Tribune Tower Renovation Ranks 10th in Year-End Construction Countdown
The edifice’s story begins almost exactly 100 years ago, when The Chicago Tribune newspaper held a public competition to design its new headquarters. The key guideline was to design the “most beautiful office building” in the world, with over 260 submissions vying for that title and a first prize of $50,000 (roughly $800,000 in 2021). The winning entry was the Neo-Gothic design by New York-based Raymond Hood and John Mead Howells, whose dramatic Neo-Gothic design came to fruition with the tower’s completion in 1925. The Chicago Landmark would serve as the Tribune’s headquarters for another 93 years, up until its 2018 relocation to One Prudential Plaza. Upon the departure, the property was sold for $240 million to co-developers CIM Group and Golub & Company.