Tribune Tower

In 1922, the Chicago Tribune hosted a competition with a $50,000 prize to find an architectural firm to design its headquarters. More than 260 entries were received, including a design by Eliel Saarinen[?], which took second place. The winner of the competition was the gothic design by Hood and Howells[?]. There are carved images of Robin Hood and a howling dog near the entrance to commemorate the architects.

Construction began and the tower was completed in 1925 and reached a height of 462 feet (141 meters) above ground. Prior to the building of the Tribune Tower, correspondents for the Chicago Tribune brought back rocks and bricks from a variety of historically important sites throughout the world. Many of these relives have been incorporated into the lowest levels of the building and are labeled with their location of origin. These include the Taj Mahal, Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb, and the Berlin Wall. In all, there are 136 fragments in the building, the most recent addition being a lunar rock from the Apollo 15 mission.