Wrigley Building

The Wrigley Building is a landmark office skyscraper standing at the south end of the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, on the north bank of the Chicago River. Built between 1920 and 1924 as the headquarters of the chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., it was among the first major developments north of the river and helped launch the transformation of North Michigan Avenue into a premier commercial boulevard.

Architecturally, it is one of the most recognizable buildings in the city. Designed by the firm Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, it consists of two towers linked by walkways and takes its ornamented, French Renaissance-inspired form loosely from the Giralda bell tower in Seville. The exterior is clad in glazed terracotta in graduated shades of white that grow brighter toward the top, so that the building appears to glow, an effect heightened at night by powerful floodlights that have illuminated it for generations.

Its clock tower, rising above the river at a bend where Michigan Avenue crosses on the DuSable Bridge, presents four large dials and completes one of the classic Chicago views. The building's gleaming white presence made it an instant icon and a fixture of the city's postcards and photographs. Wrigley reportedly chose the prominent riverfront site to ensure that his gleaming headquarters would greet everyone crossing the bridge onto the newly fashionable avenue.

For visitors, the Wrigley Building is a working office complex and not a ticketed attraction, but its exterior is the draw. The finest vantages are from the DuSable Bridge, the riverwalk below, and the plaza between the towers. It stands directly across the avenue from the Gothic Tribune Tower and marks the gateway to the Magnificent Mile's shopping. The area is flat, central, and fully accessible, and the building is especially striking after dark when floodlit.