Grant Thornton Tower (formerly Chicago Title & Trust Center, 161 North Clark and sometimes Chicago Title Tower) is an office tower located in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
designed by the firm
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architectural firm based in New York City that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services. They engineer different projects including civic and cultural spaces, co ...
.
Before completion in 1990 the twin tower design was awarded The Chicago Athenaeum's "Best Building" Architecture Award, the award was received by one of the lead designers Kevin Flanagan. (view PLP Architects).
The fifty-storey building rises 756 feet (230 m) in
the Loop and was completed in 1992, on the site of Chicago's Greyhound Bus Station.
Previously, a structure at 111 West Washington was known as the Chicago Title & Trust Building. After CT&T moved to the new tower in 1992, its former home became known as the
Burnham Center
The Burnham Center, originally known as the Conway Building and later as the Chicago Title & Trust Building, is a historic skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. Built with funds from the Marshall Field estate, it was the last building designed by D ...
.
One of the tower's most notable features is its eastern-facing slanted roof at upper levels. At night, the top of the building facing east and west is flooded with light, creating a memorable presence on the Chicago
skyline
A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...
.
The building was originally intended to have a twin at 181 N.
Clark Street, but the plan has been dropped twice: initially, after the completion of the first tower, and then a second time in 2001 after the
9/11 terror attacks.
A multi-level parking structure currently occupies the space where the north tower may someday be constructed.
It has a basement-level
pedway
Pedways (short for pedestrian walkways) are elevated or underground walkways, often connecting urban high-rises to each other, other buildings, or the street. They provide quick and comfortable movement from building to building, away from traff ...
connection westward to the south-east corner of the
James R. Thompson Center
The James R. Thompson Center (JRTC), under reconstruction as Google Center or Googleplex Chicago and originally the State of Illinois Center, is a postmodern-style building designed by architect Helmut Jahn, located at 100 W. Randolph Street in ...
's food court.
As initial tenant CT&T reduced its presence in the building, it became known by its address (161 North Clark). In 2012,
Grant Thornton International
Grant Thornton is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the seventh-largest in the world by revenue and the sixth-largest by number of employees. The network consists of independent accounting a ...
acquired the naming rights to the building for its 2015 lease. The official address has moved as Grant Thornton's official address is Grant Thornton Tower, 171 North Clark, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois, 60601 according to
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
filings.
Tenants
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Accenture
Accenture plc is a global multinational professional services company originating in the United States and headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, that specializes in information technology (IT) services and management consulting. It was founded in 1 ...
*
Bryan Cave
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (BCLP) is an international law firm with 31 offices worldwide. BCLP is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. BCLP states that it specializes in Real Estate, Tax, Finance, Corporate, Litigation & Corporate Risk and ...
*
GE Capital Rail Services
GE Capital Rail Services, also known as GE Railcar, or GE Railcar Services Corporation was a business unit of GE Capital, a division of General Electric. It was a distinct business unit from General Electric's railway locomotive manufacturer.
G ...
Position in Chicago's skyline
See also
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List of skyscrapers
This is a list of the tallest buildings. Tall buildings, such as skyscrapers, are intended here as enclosed structures with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least . Such definition excludes non-building structures, such as tow ...
*
List of tallest buildings in the United States
The world's first skyscraper was built in Chicago in 1885. Since then, the United States has been home to some of the world's tallest skyscrapers. New York City, and especially the borough of Manhattan, has the tallest skyline in the country. E ...
*
List of tallest buildings in Chicago
Chicago, the List of United States cities by population, third-largest city in the United States, is home to 1,397 completed high-rises, 56 of which stand taller than . The tallest building in the city is the 110-Storey, story Willi ...
*
World's tallest structures
This is the History of the world's tallest structures.
Overall
Below is a list of the tallest structures supported by land. For most of the period from around 2650 BC to 1240 AD, the Egyptian pyramids (culminating in the Great Pyramid of Giz ...
References
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Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago
Kohn Pedersen Fox buildings
Office buildings completed in 1992
1992 establishments in Illinois