The Wrigley Building: The White Tower That Created the Magnificent Mile

The Wrigley Building at 400 N Michigan Avenue, completed in stages between 1921 and 1924, was the first major development on what became Chicago's most glamorous commercial boulevard — and it was built by a man who sold chewing gum. William Wrigley Jr. commissioned the building as corporate headquarters, positioning it at the north end of the Michigan Avenue Bridge to be visible from both the river and the approaching street. The building is actually two connected towers, their surfaces clad in six different shades of glazed terra-cotta that graduate from cream-white at the base to brilliant white at the top, so the tower appears to grow brighter as it rises. Floodlights installed at the base illuminate it from below at night, making it one of the most recognizable silhouettes on the Chicago skyline. When the Tribune Tower was built directly across the street in 1925, the result was an architectural gateway to the north end of Michigan Avenue that has remained unchanged for a century. Wrigley's decision to put his headquarters here — rather than in the existing downtown Loop — helped establish Michigan Avenue as a serious business address and launched the development of the Magnificent Mile as a district distinct from the Loop.