Water Tower / Palmolive Building, 1931

The Water Tower and the Palmolive Building are two of Chicago's most striking landmarks. Designed by prominent architect William B. Boyington and built in 1869, the Water Tower was one of the few structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, standing as a testimony to the transition between old and new in Chicago architecture. At the time, Chicago was a city of wood-frame buildings, and 17,450 such structures were destroyed during the 36-hour blaze. Only a few scattered houses and the Water Tower survived; but within weeks, builders began to paint new architectural masterpieces on the blank canvas left by the fire. The opening of the Michigan Avenue Bridge in 1920 extended development north of the Chicago River, and nine years later the Art Deco Palmolive Building (Holabird & Root) became one of the most eye-catching additions to the city's skyline. The aircraft beacon seen here atop the Palmolive Building debuted in 1930 with a ceremony that featured President Herbert Hoover flicking the switch. It boasted two billion in candlepower, and pilots reported seeing its beam from three hundred miles away.