Chicago skyscraper would be nation's tallest

CNN ^ | 7-26-2005 | (AP)

[fieldmarshaldj]

Chicago skyscraper would be nation's tallest Tuesday,

July 26, 2005; Posted: 12:34 p.m. EDT (16:34 GMT)

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A proposal to build a new 115-story building by 2009 could give Chicago claim to having the first and second tallest skyscrapers in the country.

The 2,000-foot tower, proposed by Chicago developer Christopher Carley and designed by noted architect Santiago Calatrava, would go up along the city's lakefront near Navy Pier, northeast of the Loop.

The 110-floor Sears Tower is currently the nation's tallest building. Carley's building, minus its spire, would be 1,458 feet high -- taller than the Sears Tower by eight feet.

No financing for what would be a hotel and condo tower has yet been arranged and some rival developers say the proposal does not seem feasible.

If it is ever completed, the skyscraper would also surpass the height of New York's planned Freedom Tower, which would be 1,362 feet tall, plus a spire to stretch it to 1,776 feet. The Freedom Tower is expected to be completed in 2010...

[fieldmarshaldj]

Interesting looking building... (Pics follow)

[fieldmarshaldj]

[RexBeach]

Gee, looks like a giant drill bit!

[54skylark]

One big problem. On the news today they said they have no funding to build this.

So I am proposing a Club Gitmo type resort in Ma & Ca

Can someone help with funding?

[inkling]

That's a pretty cool design. I wonder how that corkscrew effect would play with the high winds in Chicago. Would it help to direct the gusts up and around?

[End Times Sentinel]

115 floors?  I can't imagine that.  I was once at the top of One Liberty Place, 62 floors and the building was swaying.  I'll never go up that high in a building again.

Owl_Eagle

(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,

 it was probably sarcasm)

[54skylark]

More like a B'Day candle

[Haru Hara Haruko]

As in "Terrorists, screw you. We'll still build 'em tall."

[BlessedBeGod]

Gee, looks like a giant drill bit!

LOL, you took the words out of my mouth! :-)

[philsfan24]

how did you get up to the top of one liberty? they closed the observation deck after september 11th and i never got a chance to go to the top. the view must be awesome.

[lilylangtree]

Looks like a extra thin dildo with a twist.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Sorry - I'm not familiar with that word - what does it mean??

[Darkwolf377]

Awwww, it's a unicorn's horn! How MAGICAL!

Blech!

[EternalVigilance]

I was once at the top of One Liberty Place, 62 floors and the building was swaying. I'll never go up that high in a building again.

I know what you mean. I went to the top of the John Hancock building in Chicago a few months back. Quite intimidating, and man, you could really feel the sway!

The view of Lake Michigan was incredible, though...

[sharktrager]

Don't we get a new story like this about every 3 months? Trump alone is good for at least one per-year.

[Petronski]

Sorry - I'm not familiar with that word - what does it mean??

twist: a coil along a central axis

[steve86]

I wonder how that corkscrew effect would play with the high winds in Chicago.

It will probably generate tornadoes.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Ok - thanks, I appreciate the clarification. Thought it might have been a dance step.

[End Times Sentinel]

Good question.  I was friends with one of the maintenece guys there.  He was actually responsible for changing the lights at the top of the spire, so he had run of the entire building.  I don't think there ever was an observation deck (which was a shame), it's just, essentially a storage area for maintenence beyond the top floor, so you can literally walk right up to the window (if you're so inclined). (The company that had the top floors may have had an observation deck, I don't know.)

I'll never forget my buddy telling me that he and another friend sat on top of the spire and watched fireworks one 4th of July (top flips open like a submarine hatch).  Imagine a space about the size of a manhole, about 80 stories up, just sitting on the edge (legs in of course) and watching fireworks.  He showed me the ladder to the spire, about 130 feet up going from about six feet in diameter to three feet.  That was pretty much all I needed to see before I was ready to get back to terra firma.

The thing that really surprises you is how close everything seems from that height.  I remember thinking I could probably throw something and hit The Pyramid Club and that I was looking directly down on Liberty Two.

Owl_Eagle

(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,

 it was probably sarcasm)