What’s That Building? The Leaning Tower of Niles
The structure was originally the centerpiece of a 22-acre park built in the 1930s for workers of the Ilg Electrical Ventilation Company.

Lots of Chicago-area buildings make you stop and ask: “What’s that building?” So, WBEZ’s Reset collects the stories behind them!
The structure was originally the centerpiece of a 22-acre park built in the 1930s for workers of the Ilg Electrical Ventilation Company.
The move to 4830 S. Western Ave. brings a bold new structure and much-needed greenspace to Brighton Park.
Chicagoans will be able to see inside where the famous animator and theme park creator was born for the first time this weekend.
The structure was originally the centerpiece of a 22-acre park built in the 1930s for workers of the Ilg Electrical Ventilation Company.
A cluster of apartment buildings in Kenwood have Native-inspired names and decorative schemes.
The move to 4830 S. Western Ave. brings a bold new structure and much-needed greenspace to Brighton Park.
Chicagoans will be able to see inside where the famous animator and theme park creator was born for the first time this weekend.
The Xes on the sides of the tower help make this one of the most recognizable high-rises in downtown Chicago, but also serve a functional purpose.
Wrigley Field, Soldier Field, Guaranteed Rate Field and the United Center are a sign of Chicago’s strong sports fandom.
This building is the only Baháʼí House of Worship on the continent and one of only eight in the world.
These homes are as much an icon of Chicago architecture as the more imposing downtown buildings.
The elegant simplicity of these residential towers designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe would be imitated several times — in Chicago and around the world.
The massive structure mainly houses offices these days, but it was built by Marshall Field’s when the department store was growing in the 1920s.