Coordinates: 41°53′49″N 87°37′31″W / 41.89694°N 87.62528°W / 41.89694; -87.62528
Park Tower, located at 800 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, is a skyscraper that was completed in 2000. At 844 feet (257 m) tall with 70 floors — 67 floors for practical use, it is the eleventh tallest building in Chicago, the 35th tallest building in the United States, and the eighty-third tallest in the world by architectural detail. It is one of the world's tallest buildings to be clad with architectural precast concrete (the Transamerica Pyramid Building in San Francisco is taller). It is one of the tallest non-steel framed structures in the world—it is a cast-in-place concrete framed structure. This building was originally intended to be 650 feet (198 m) tall. But later, the ceiling heights were increased allowing it to reach 844 feet (257 m).
The building occupies a footprint of 28,000 square feet (2,601 m²). Because of the small footprint and the fact that it is a non-steel framed concrete building, this is the first building in the United States to be designed with a tuned mass damper from the outset. While other skyscrapers in America have anti-sway systems, they were always added later. A tuned mass damper counteracts wind effects on the structure. (The 300 ton damper is a massive steel pendulum hung from four cables inside a square cage) Because of its massive weight, the damper has inertia that helps stabilize the building from swaying in the wind.
Designed by Chicago architectural firm Lucien Lagrange Architects, Park Tower is a mixed use tower. As the name suggests, the lower portion holds a Park Hyatt Hotel while the upper levels contain luxury condominiums.
The building contains 193,000 square feet (17,930 m²) of hotel space (202 rooms), 475,000 square feet (44,129 m²) of residential space, 20,000 square feet (1,858 m²) of retail, and 92,000 square feet (8,547 m²) of parking. Levels 9, 19, and the crown are mechanical areas.
With its location on the prestigious Magnificent Mile, Park Tower is also home to the acclaimed restaurant NoMi.
Famous quotes containing the words park and/or tower:
“Is a park any better than a coal mine? What’s a mountain got that a slag pile hasn’t? What would you rather have in your garden—an almond tree or an oil well?”
—Jean Giraudoux (1882–1944)
“Culture is a sham if it is only a sort of Gothic front put on an iron building—like Tower Bridge—or a classical front put on a steel frame—like the Daily Telegraph building in Fleet Street. Culture, if it is to be a real thing and a holy thing, must be the product of what we actually do for a living—not something added, like sugar on a pill.”
—Eric Gill (1882–1940)