About this 3D model

An iconic presence in a city of architectural icons, the John Hancock Center rises boldly from the mid-American prairie to cast a cultural shadow much larger than the one it gets from the sun. It is a staple of movies, television newscasts, t-shirts, corporate logos and children's drawings. The John Hancock Center is photographed, idealized, and simplified into its various components and used for all things Chicago. It is visible everywhere, both visually, and in branding for all sorts of products and companies in the city and suburbs. But once you get beyond a 50-mile radius, the Hancock's identity begins to fade and become confused with its taller, younger, possibly even better-looking sibling, the Sears Tower. It's not surprising that the majority of Americans confuse the Hancock Center and the Sears Tower. Both were erected at roughly the same time. Both are black monoliths. And both are located in hard core fly-over territory. In fact, many tourists are surprised to learn that Chicago has not one, but four supertowers with a fifth under construction. When it comes to scraping the sky, New York and Los Angeles simply can't compete with Chicago. In its simplest form, the John Hancock Center is four vertical beams connected by a series of cross braces forming a square tube. It's perfectly comprehensible to even the most casual observer and the reason you can sometimes see it scrawled on sidewalks in childrens' chalk doodles. A simple rectangle filled with X's topped by two sticks representing the building's antennae is an almost universal symbol of Chicago for millions of people. More importantly, the steel exoskeleton made construction cheaper. According to the AIA Guide to Chicago, the 100-story John Hancock Center was erected for about what it cost to build a contemporary 45-story office building. The John Hancock Center doesn't fuss with setbacks like other tall structures. Its broad shoulders carry its massive girth all the way to the top. But that's not to say it's a box. The tower tapers as it gets higher, an unnecessary use of forced perspective in a skyscraper that is already one of the biggest in the world. The effect is that the glass and steel obelisk appears even taller than it really is. The construction of the Hancock Center was a game-changer for Chicago's North Side. Before 1969, North Michigan Avenue was lined with fairly uniform and elegant mid- and low-rise buildings that some compared to the look and feel of Paris. When the John Hancock Center came online, it ushered in a wave of skyscraper building along the Magnificent Mile that transformed it into a modern canyon of commerce. There was originally supposed to be two skyscrapers here, which is why it is called John Hancock Center, not the John Hancock Building. The second tower would gave been East of the first, but the developers could not wrest the land at 195 East Delaware Place away from the very private Casino Club. The developers sent a letter about the second tower to then-club president Doris Winterbotham. She ignored the letter and the development went forward with only one tower. The letter in question was found in Winterbotham's papers after she died, and was later publicized by the Chicago Tribune. Quick Facts Construction start: 1965 Construction finish: 1969 Designed by: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Cost: $95,000,000 Renovated: 1994-1995: Lower level and garden plaza renovated by Hiltscher Shapiro Type: Skyscraper Stories: 100 Maximum Height: 1,506 feet / 459 meters Statistics Height to tower roof: 1,106 feet, six inches. Height to penthouse roof: 1,127 feet. Height to top of east antenna: 1,506.25 feet. Size at base: 47,000 square feet Size at top: 17,000 square feet Steel used: 46,000 tons. Designed by: Bruce J. Graham and Fazlur R. Khan Developer: Jerry Wolman Elevators: 42 Stairs from the lobby to the observation deck: 1,632. Light tubed on the 99th floor: 555. It takes 40-50 hours to change the tinted sleeves over the tubes by hand. Parking spaces: 750. Office floor space: 897,000 square feet Retail floor space: 171,800 square feet Observation deck floor space: 17,400 square feet Commercial address: 875 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Residential address: 175 East Delaware Place, Chicago, Illinois 60611 Timeline 1965: Plans for the John Hancock Center are announced. 1969: Construction is completed. 1972: The Hancock Center is surpassed by the Standard Oil Building (now the Aon Center) as the tallest building in Chicago. 1973: The residential portion of this building converts from apartments to condominiums. June, 1988: A proposal was floated to build a massive $20 million, three-story atrium in front of this building. Designed by Green Hiltscher Shapiro, it would have extended all the way to the North Michigan Avenue sidewalk and had colonnades on the north and south sides of the building. November 11, 1981: Stuntman Dan Goodwin climbs the outside of the building. It takes him six hours to get to the t