181 West Madison in Chicago, Illinois

myminifactory

181 West Madison Street stands tall in Chicago. Completed in 1990, this skyscraper soars 680 feet into the sky and boasts an impressive 50 floors. Noted architect Cesar Pelli's first and only finished tower in the city, it showcases his unique design style. The glass office building's most striking feature is its elegantly recessed crown. At night, the top of the structure shines brightly with a brilliant white glow at its corners, while other colors dance across its facade to celebrate various holidays throughout the year. Interestingly, in 1989, a similar collaboration between developer The Beitler Company and architect Cesar Pelli envisioned a massive skyscraper called the Miglin-Beitler Skyneedle just nearby. This towering marvel would have reached an astonishing height of 2,000 feet with 125 stories, eclipsing all other skyscrapers to claim the title of the world's tallest if completed. However, due to a sluggish real estate market, plans for this monumental project were ultimately scrapped. This incredible landmark is part of "Scan The World", a non-profit initiative launched by MyMiniFactory that aims to create a comprehensive digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from around the globe, accessible for free to the public. Scan The World is an open-source community effort, where anyone with interesting objects can contribute by emailing stw@myminifactory.com to learn how they can help. Scanned using photogrammetry technology and processed with Agisoft PhotoScan.