Chicago: Architecture

I may not have the background of some professionals I know, but I think I'm qualified enough to appreciate outstanding structures and Chicago has some of the most outstanding in North America. The two most notable (The Hancock and Sears Towers) are engineering marvels as well as superb design showcases. My favorite structure in Chicago is the Hancock Tower. But the dazzling glass and steel giants that put Chicago on the map are only the crown jewels of an architecture treasure trove. Buildings that date back before the great fire still stand and are fascinating to say the least. Chicago seems to have gone to great lengths to preserve legacy structures that seem to date back to the 19th century. These buildings bring character to downtown and seem to ground Chicago, or legitimize it in sea of large cities, building new structures like mad, trying to get a bite of the big apples. Chicago is not languishing in the glow of the past however. Construction was widespread and these new structures were not simple or commonplace. Each seemed to have a panache and class that transcended their structural steel cores.