Chicago Tribune Tower

A drawing of two identical Chicago Tribune skyscrapers side by side. They share a single entrance, but otherwise resemble the tower as built. The exterior of the building is highlighted by small splotches of purple wash representing shadows and areas of light blue crayon or colored pencil.

A drawing of two towers side by side: one shorter one to the right and one over twice as tall on the left. The low tower on the right represent the Chicago Tribune Tower as built. The taller tower on the left is wider at its base and has a much more gradual taper at the top resembling the top of an ornate church tower. Both towers are similar in style, with a concentration of gothic ornament in the upper portions.

Raymond Hood
Project for a pair of Tribune Towers, December 13, 1922
Charcoal and watercolor on board
12½" × 8¼"
Raymond Mathewson Hood papers, 1903–1931, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Raymond Hood
Project for an addition to Tribune Tower, December 19, 1922
Charcoal on trace paper mounted on board
24½" × 10¼"
Raymond Mathewson Hood papers, 1903–1931, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Hood was not afraid to test out adventurous ideas. In one drawing he duplicated the tower, in another he paired it with a much larger sibling.