I recently stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. While I’ll be back to the Windy City next weekend for what is sure to be a spectacular celebration at the Chicago Park Hyatt for a wedding, this trip was mostly for pleasure. While having a little fun shooting reflections in the revolving doors in the lobby one night, the security guard told me about a unique observatory on the 32nd floor of the Intercontinental with expansive views of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and beyond. I headed up to the lookout for an incredible perspective of Chicago architecture. Anyone familiar with my work knows that I adore night photography. As the temperature dropped and the canopy of the city became engulfed in fog, the view was even more striking.
The Wrigley Building spurred development of the North Michigan Avenue business district. Most recognized by its clock tower, the building is illuminated by hundreds of lights precisely positioned to create a gradual increase in brightness moving up the building’s facade.
Among the historic landmarks located near the Intercontinental Hotel is the Tribune Tower. The neo-Gothic building located in the four-hundred block of North Michigan Avenue is home to not only the Chicago Tribune, but also WGN Radio and CNN’s Chicago bureau. The 36-floor building was completed in 1925. The gothic buttresses that adorn the top of the building are especially ominous when lit at night.
