Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago

Photo of Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago, Illinois
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
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Photo of Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago, Illinois
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to purchase a print or digital download of this photograph.
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Photo of Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago, Illinois
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to purchase a print or digital download of this photograph.
Photo of Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago, Illinois
Photograph © Wayne Lorentz/Artefaqs Corporation
Click here to purchase a print or digital download of this photograph.

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Two Prudential Plaza
Also known as:Two Pru

180 North Stetson Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, The Loop 60601
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Reminiscent of a number of other skyscrapers around the world, Two Prudential Plaza successfully takes the art moderne aesthetic and updates it for a new generation.

The building rises from an artificial hillside plaza as a dramatic shaft piercing the sky. Along the way it goes through several chevron-shaped setbacks until it reaches the top -- a diamond shape created by chamfering the corners of the block. The building's grid pattern is represented in these cuts as stripes as if the architect cut into a layered candy. Further visual interest is generated by long glass channels which run down all four sides of the building, leaping over the setbacks like crystal waterfalls that sprout from gables at the roofline. The entire affair is topped with a short spire, a spike really, which helps end the building's skyward ambitions.

One of the few things this building has going against it is its neighbors. It is blocked in by the dated (though beloved) One Prudential Plaza, and overshadowed by the Aon Center to the north. There are few angles from which this building can be fully appreciated.

Quick Facts
Statistics
  • Height: 995 feet to the tip of the spire.
  • Height: 915 feet to the top of the roof.
  • Rentable floor space: 993,507 square feet
Quotations

    "We have a responsibility to the community to build something that is uplifting and appealing and doesn't show its shorts."

    --Architect Steve Wright, Chicago Tribune, 23 July, 1995

Related Links
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Nearby Buildings
Two Prudential Plaza in Chicago. Photo by john kovacich
Photo by john kovacich
Your Thoughts

There are four comments.

  This is a very cool skyscraper in Chicago, like how it looks. Especially the pyramid and point at the top looks spectacular. It even looks cool at night, even when it's day time.

Brent Kampert - Friday, August 15th, 2008 @ 3:15pm  

  Not a bad-looking building, but the lobby is odd and unreadable to the casual visitor, and it handicaps the building in a significant way.

JL - Friday, November 2nd, 2007 @ 1:54am  

  Actually, this is not an unattractive building, but there are far better in Chicago. My main objection to this building is that it basically possesses no originality. It reminds me of a contemporary rendition of New York's Empire State and Chrysler buildings, not to mention a few buildings in Philadelphia and pretty much those of any other large US city. In other words, it's very generic, which disqualifies it from being a true Chicago skyscraper.

David Shmuel - Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 @ 5:56pm  

  best looking newer skyscraper in Chicago

Geddy Lee - Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 @ 7:04am  

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