Century Tower, Art Deco skyscraper in Loop District, Chicago, US.
Century Tower is a 102-meter-tall structure with 20 stories in its main section, topped by an eight-story tower featuring ziggurat architectural elements at West Lake Street in the Loop. The building combines office and residential condominium spaces, creating a distinctive vertical presence in the downtown landscape.
The building opened in 1930 as Trustees System Service Building and held the record as the first reinforced concrete structure in the world to reach such height. Its conversion to residential condominiums in 2003 marked a significant shift from commercial to mixed-use occupancy.
The ground floor lobby displays red marble from an ancient Roman quarry in Oran, Algeria, which emphasizes the refined architectural details throughout the space. This rare stone gives the entrance area a special sense of quality and presence.
The building is easy to find by following West Lake Street in the Loop and is surrounded by public transportation and urban amenities. The best time to visit is during daytime, when the structure and its surroundings are fully visible and accessible.
The building housed multiple international consulates including Belgium, China, Cuba, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, and the Philippines, making it an important diplomatic center. This diverse international presence left marks on the neighborhood's history.
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