NBC Tower

The NBC Tower is an office tower on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois located at 454 North Columbus Drive (455 North Cityfront Plaza is also used as a vanity address for the building) in downtown Chicago's Magnificent Mile area. Completed in 1989, the 37-story building reaches a height of 627 feet (191 m). NBC's Chicago offices, studios, and owned-and-operated station WMAQ-TV are located here as of 1989 and on October 1, 1989, WMAQ-TV broadcast their first newscast at 10:00 that evening at their new home, NBC Tower with the then-weeknight news team of Ron Magers, Carol Marin, John Coleman, and Mark Giangreco.[1] Later, Telemundo O&O WSNS-TV since their 2002 purchase by NBC. Formerly its former radio sister WMAQ/WSCR was located here. The studios of NBC's former Chicago FM property, WKQX and its sister station WLUP are located in the NBC Tower.[2]

NBC Tower
NBC Tower with peacock logo
General information
TypeOffice
LocationChicago, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates41.889955°N 87.621106°W / 41.889955; -87.621106
Completed1989
OwnerMetropolis Investment Holdings Inc.
Height
Antenna spire627 ft (191 m)
Roof562 ft (171 m)
Top floor524 ft (160 m)
Technical details
Floor count37
Design and construction
ArchitectSkidmore, Owings & Merrill

The design, by Adrian D. Smith of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, is considered one of the finest reproductions of the Art Deco style. It was inspired by 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, which is NBC's global headquarters. The tower is further enhanced by the use of limestone piers and recessed tinted glass with granite spandrels.[3] The building takes additional cues from the nearby landmark Tribune Tower with the use of flying buttresses. A 130 ft (40 m) broadcast tower and spire tops the skyscraper. WMAQ and WSNS have STL and satellite facilities on the roof; the STLs link to WMAQ and WSNS's transmitter facilities atop the Willis Tower. WMAQ radio/WSCR studios and STL were located in the building until 2006 when they relocated to Two Prudential Plaza.

Located in the Cityfront Plaza area, the building contains 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m2) of space and three floors of underground parking with 261 spaces. Connected to the main tower is a four-story radio and television broadcasting facility where popular shows such as Judge Mathis and WSNS's newscasts and WMAQ's newscasts are currently taped, and was the former recording facility for The Jerry Springer Show and The Steve Wilkos Show before their tax credit-influenced move to Stamford, Connecticut in 2009. It was also home to the 1990s syndicated improv/sketch show Kwik Witz,[4] The Jenny Jones Show until its cancellation in 2003, and Steve Harvey until their move to Los Angeles in 2017.

Tenants

WMAQ/NBC, WSNS/Telemundo are located in the building. The Consulate-General of India in Chicago is located in Suite 850.[5] The Consulate-General of South Korea in Chicago is located in Suite 2700.[6] The Consulate-General of Lithuania in Chicago is located in Suite 800.[7] CBS Television Distribution's Chicago branch is located in Suite 2910.

  • WMAQ-TV newscasts (1989–present)
  • WSNS-TV (2002–present)
  • WKQX (1989-2001; 2016–present)
  • WCKL (formerly WLUP-FM) (2016–present)
  • WLS (2017–present)
  • WLS-FM (2017–present)

The tower was also the world headquarters of Navistar International until 2000 when the company announced plans to relocate to west suburban Warrenville, Illinois.

From the tower's opening to 2006, WMAQ/WSCR radio studios were also located in the building; the stations relocated.

In February 2016, Alternative station WKQX and sister classic rock station WLUP-FM announced that they will be moving from their longtime home in the Merchandise Mart to a new studio in the tower. WKQX and WLUP-FM operated temporarily from the former WLS studios at 190 N. State St. On August 4, 2016, the move of WKQX and WLUP-FM to the tower was finalized.[8]

Shows recorded

In addition to housing these entities, the studios were/are home to the following shows:

  • Looking North at Night
  • Looking East
  • Looking North
  • Columbus Drive entrance

See also

References
  1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Duv9EV7hm0c&t=33s
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "NBC Tower". Chicago Architecture Info. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  4. "NBC Tower". Emporis. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  5. "Location of the Consulate". Consulate-General of India: Chicago. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  6. "Location/Contact". Consulate-General of Turkish in Chicago suite 2900, Consulate General of South Korea in Chicago suite 2700. Retrieved 2014-02-25.
  7. "Čikagos centre plevėsuoja trispalvė". Draugas (in Lithuanian). Chicago, Illinois: Lithuanian Catholic Press Society. August 15, 2015. p. 1.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2017-04-04.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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