The Chicago Tribune Tower Competition: Skyscraper Design and Cultural Change in the 1920s

by Katherine Solomonson

In 1922, the Chicago Tribune sponsored an international competition to design its new corporate headquarters. Both a serious design contest and a brilliant publicity stunt, the competition received worldwide attention for the hundreds of submissions—from the sublime to the ridiculous—it garnered.

In this lavishly illustrated book, Katherine Solomonson tells the fascinating story of the competition, the diverse architectural designs it attracted, and its lasting impact. She shows how the Tribune used the competition to position itself as a civic institution whose new headquarters would serve as a defining public monument for Chicago. For architects, planners, and others, the competition sparked influential debates over the design and social functions of skyscrapers. It also played a crucial role in the development of advertising, consumer culture, and a new national identity in the turbulent years after World War I.

384 pages, Paperback

First published November 15, 2003

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating study of the design competition that created the Tribune Tower in Chicago. The author (who happens to be my cousin) thoroughly analyzes the numerous entries and their competing artistic visions, placing them in their historical context, and goes on to tell of the construction of the building and its ultimate impact on the field of architecture. Tribune Tower is far from my favorite Chicago building (even in its immediate neighborhood, I much prefer the Wrigley Building), yet I really enjoyed learning about its creation and impact.