Tallest Buildings in Chicago in 2019

As of 2019, Chicago has 31 buildings over 200m in height built, the amount is only second to that of New York City in North America. And 7 over 300 meters (by standard height) built or topped out. It is the only city that can be regarded as Concrete Jungle in America with the exception of New York City.

Below is a list of the tallest buildings in Chicago, the buildings are at least 300 meters or 984ft by standard height.

1. Willis Tower

Standard height: 442 meters (1451ft)   Total height: 527 meters (1729ft)

Year built: 1974

Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill   Developer: Sears Holding Corp

Built in 1973 as Sears Tower, the tower was the world's tallest building from 1973 to 1998, and was the tallest in America from 1973 to 2014. It's now the 2nd tallest building in America, after One World Trade Center in New York City, however, its roof and observation deck are all higher than that of One World Trade Center.
The tower was developed by Sears Group as the headquarters of the company. In 1994, Sears sold the tower and the company's naming rights expired in 2003. Willis Group leased a considerable amount of office space in the tower in 2009, and obtained the naming rights through negotiations, the tower was renamed as Willis Tower in the same year.
The 103rd floor of the tower has an observation deck, offering 360 degree view of the city from a height of 1353ft. More details of Willis Tower.

2. Chicago Trump International Hotel & Tower

Standard height: 423 meters (1388ft)   Roof height: 356 meters (1171ft)

Year built: 2009

Architect: Adrian Smith (SOM)

Trump International Hotel & Tower is named after the real estate tycoon and 45th US President Donald Trump, the tower is the tallest among all the buildings named after Trump.
The Trump Tower is located next to the main branch of the Chicago River, and just east of the iconic Marina City twin towers and IBM Building.
The tower was designed by Adrian Smith, the architect behind the current world's tallest building Burj Khalifa. And it was also intended to become the world's tallest building when it was proposed in 2001, but Donald Trump gave up the idea after the September 11 attacks, and in 2005 he planned to make the building higher than the Sears Tower but shorter than the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest buildings by that time), so it could still become the tallest building in America. However, the city's mayor was against that height, the tower was eventually scaled down to its current height.
The tower is mixed-used, floors below 12th floor are retail space and parking garage, 17th to 27th floors are occupied by a hotel with 339 rooms, and 28th to 89th floors are occupied by 486 residential condominiums, the penthouse at 89th floor briefly held the title of the highest residence in the world before the completion of the Burj Khalifa.

3. Vista Tower

Standard height: 363 meters (1191ft)

Year topped out: 2019

Architects: Studio Gang Architects

Developer: Wanda Group & Magellan Development Group

Vista Tower is a mixed-use building being developed by Magellan Development Group in joint with the Chinese developer Wanda Group, the building will contain the 5-star Wanda Vista Hotel with 210 guest rooms, and residential space with 406 condominiums.
The building is designed by the architect Jeanne Gang, and will replace the nearby Aqua Tower (also designed by Jeanne Gang) as the tallest building in the world designed by a woman. The building is composed of three connected towers of different heights, and each tower is composed of a series of stacked frustum-shaped structures, making the whole building appears like flowing water, very similar to the nearby Aqua Tower.

4. Aon Center

Standard height: 346 meters (1136ft)

Roof height: 346 meters

Year built: 1973

Architects: Edward Durell Stone,  Perkins + Will

Developer: Standard Oil of Indiana

Built in 1973, Aon Center was the tallest building in Chicago at its completion, and was also the tallest in the world outside of New York City.
The building was originally named Standard Oil Building, as it was built as the headquarters of the Standard Oil Company. In 1985, Standard Oil Company was renamed as Amoco, and changed the building's name to Amoco Building. In 1999, Aon Corporation signed as the primary tenant of the building and obtained the building's naming rights, so Amoco Building was renamed as "Aon Center", which is still in use today.
The building's facade is comprised of an upward flow of columns, kind of similar to that of the former World Trade Center twin towers.
The latest owners of the building acquired it in 2015, and are planning to add a multi-level observatory to the building's uppermost floors and the roof, and will include a tallest exterior elevator in the world.

Once completed, Chicago will have a total of 3 skyscrapers that contain observatories, currently only Shanghai, New York City, and Tokyo have more such kind of skyscrapers.

5. 875 North Michigan Avenue (former John Hancock Center)

Standard height: 344 meters (1127ft)

Total height: 457 meters (1500ft)

Year built: 1969

Architects: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Developer: Jerry Wolman Associates

Upon its completion in 1968, the building was the second tallest building in the world, only after the Empire State Building in New York City, but if the height is measured to the tip of antennas, it's taller than the Empire State Building.
Before Feb 2018, the building had been known as John Hancock Center, named for John Hancock Insurance Company, which co-developed the building and financed its construction, and was also the building's primary tenant. John Hancock's naming rights expired in 2013, and the name was removed in early 2018, now the building is temporarily named after its address, 875 North Michigan Avenue, and will get a new name in the future once a tenant gets the naming rights.

The building was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which also designed the Sears Tower, both buildings are cladded with black-colored glass and have a pair of antennas installed on the top, the antennas act as transmitters for television stations. A distinctive feature of the tower is those X-shaped structures on the facades, they make the tower more resistant to wind loads, and can also reduce the needs of interior columns, allowing the building's floor plates to have more occupyable space.
The 100-story building is in mixed use, floors below 43rd floor are office spaces, 44th to 92nd floors are used for residences, the uppermost one of which was once the highest residence in the world before it was surpassed by the penthouse on the city's Trump Tower. The 94th floor is occupied by an observation deck called 360 Chicago, it's 1030 ft high from the ground, not as tall as that of the Willis Tower, but its floor space is larger and is less crowed. 95th and 96th floors have a restaurant and a bar, the rest floors to the top are for mechanical uses.

6. Franklin Center

Standard height: 307 meters (1007ft)

Roof height: 270 meters (886ft)

Year built: 1989

Architect: Adrian Smith (SOM)

Developer: Stein & Company

The Franklin North Tower was originally named AT&T Corporate Center, it was built by AT&T company to consolidate the company's central region headquarters. The building and its adjacent property was acquired by Tishman Speyer in 2004, and the property was later named as Franklin Center, the skyscraper is referred to as The Franklin North Tower.

7. Two Prudential Plaza

Standard height: 303 meters (995ft)

Roof height: 279 meters (915ft)

Year built: 1990

Architects: Loebl Schlossman Dart & Hackl

Developer: The Prudential Property

Two Prudential Plaza is located just west of the Aon Center, the two buildings are situated very close. The building is iconic for its pyramidal crown, which is rotated 45 degree and topped with an 24-meter (80 ft) spire. Without the spire, it's 279 meters tall, about as tall as New York's Chrysler Building, which is 282 meters tall without the spire.