NBC Tower

The NBC Tower is an office tower on the <a href="/facts/Near_North_Side,_Chicago/23GWECMN">Near North Side</a> of <a href="/facts/Chicago,_Illinois/yPMokrXH">Chicago, Illinois</a> located at 454 North Columbus Drive (455 North Cityfront Plaza is also used as a vanity address) in downtown Chicago's Magnificent Mile area. Completed in 1989, the 37-story building reaches a height of 627 feet (191 m). <a href="/facts/NBC/zyfTYCvW">NBC</a>'s Chicago offices, studios, and <a href="/facts/Owned-and-operated_station/E2jeTvqg">owned-and-operated station</a> <a href="/facts/WMAQ-TV/n08y1GWc">WMAQ-TV</a> are based in the building. At 10 o'clock on the evening of October 1, 1989, WMAQ-TV broadcast its first newscast from the new home, with the then-weeknight news team of <a href="/facts/Ron_Magers/kP9w5DN0">Ron Magers</a>, <a href="/facts/Carol_Marin/eg79r8C7">Carol Marin</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Coleman_(news_weathercaster)/CjFQyA7T">John Coleman</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mark_Giangreco/X1oYUI4U">Mark Giangreco</a>. <a href="/facts/Telemundo/w8T3J1K3">Telemundo</a> O&O <a href="/facts/WSNS-TV/P8CX25SJ">WSNS-TV</a> has also occupied the building since its purchase by NBC in 2001, and NBC's former radio properties, <a href="/facts/WKQX_(FM)/Aw8z18Gt">WKQX</a>, and <a href="/facts/WCKL_(FM)/ACIlqtgE">WLUP-FM</a>, continue to maintain studios in the tower.
The design, by <a href="/facts/Adrian_Smith_(architect)/3ao4hPNT">Adrian D. Smith</a> of <a href="/facts/Skidmore,_Owings_%26_Merrill/nzd6KsqJ">Skidmore, Owings & Merrill</a>, is in the <a href="/facts/Art_Deco/y1xFeh9t">Art Deco</a> style and bears a marked similarity to <a href="/facts/30_Rockefeller_Plaza/T2DQnFXX">30 Rockefeller Plaza</a> in <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City</a>, which is NBC's global headquarters. The tower is further enhanced by the use of <a href="/facts/Limestone/8ntvtFnR">limestone</a> piers and recessed tinted glass with <a href="/facts/Granite/G2evuVKo">granite</a> <a href="/facts/Spandrel/LwdTxgjD">spandrels</a>. The building takes additional cues from the nearby landmark <a href="/facts/Tribune_Tower/E7dEVjW6">Tribune Tower</a> with the use of <a href="/facts/Flying_buttresses/IGSyyjaH">flying buttresses</a>. A 130 ft (40 m) <a href="/facts/Broadcast_tower/Xh2FLXuK">broadcast tower</a> and <a href="/facts/Spire/Xw9su71N">spire</a> tops the <a href="/facts/Skyscraper/5nM0naVB">skyscraper</a>. WMAQ and WSNS have <a href="/facts/Studio/transmitter_link/UgA5Fz8r">STL</a> and satellite facilities on the roof; the STLs link to WMAQ and WSNS's transmitter facilities atop the <a href="/facts/Willis_Tower/0oukJxzA">Willis Tower</a>. WMAQ radio/WSCR studios and STL were located in the building until 2006 when they relocated to <a href="/facts/Two_Prudential_Plaza/moxkSC8e">Two Prudential Plaza</a>.
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 WSNS's newscasts and WMAQ's newscasts are currently taped, and was the former recording facility for <a href="/facts/The_Jerry_Springer_Show/XBE2BzLc">Jerry Springer</a> and <a href="/facts/The_Steve_Wilkos_Show/x12VkVGL">The Steve Wilkos Show</a> before their tax credit-influenced move to <a href="/facts/Stamford,_Connecticut/ByPXKdU2">Stamford, Connecticut</a> in 2009. It was also home to the 1990s syndicated improv/sketch show <a href="/facts/Kwik_Witz/LknDYhvk">Kwik Witz</a>, <a href="/facts/The_Jenny_Jones_Show/52LoNvF9">The Jenny Jones Show</a> until its cancellation in 2003, <a href="/facts/Steve_Harvey_(TV_series)/ajAEtqsx">Steve Harvey</a> until its move to <a href="/facts/Los_Angeles/pyXpYEX9">Los Angeles</a> in 2017, and <a href="/facts/Judge_Mathis/HrH5g4F7">Judge Mathis</a> until its cancellation in 2023.

NBC Tower open-in-new

NBC Tower