Graphic that says “Chicago's Skyscrapers.” (WTTW News)

Chicago is a city of firsts — everything from the first Ferris wheel to the first brownie and the world’s very first skyscraper. WTTW News explains.

Graceland Cemetery’s new entry plaza is designed to lure people into the 120-acre green space. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Graceland Cemetery has debuted a new entryway designed to draw people in rather than keep people out, embracing its status as one of Chicago’s great green spaces.

From a distance, 1229 West Concord in Lincoln Yards looks like every other glass tower in Chicago. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
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Sterling Bay’s first completed structure at its $6 billion Lincoln Yards riverfront development was constructed with bird-friendly glass. The use of the material is one of several features intended to minimize the sorts of deadly bird collisions Chicago just witnessed in record numbers.

An aerial view of Barcelona, Spain, a city trialing various urban interventions to reduce the impact of soaring temperatures. (Manel Subirats / iStockphoto / Getty Images  via CNN)

Despite knowing about the perils of global warming for decades, many cities are proving to be woefully unprepared. Many solutions are based on time-tested design principles. Here are five things cities are doing right now to combat rising temperatures. 

The Century Building, 202 S. State St., built in 1916, architects Holabird and Roche. Consumers Building, 220 S. State St., built in 1913, architects Jenney, Mundie and Jensen. (Preservation Chicago / Eric Allix Rogers)

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks voted unanimously Thursday to grant preliminary landmark status to a pair of early 20th century skyscrapers slated for demolition by the federal government.

The federal government plans to tear down the building at 208-212 S. State St., the shorter of the two properties between the threatened Century Building and Consumers Building skyscrapers, pictured last year before a sidewalk closure. (Preservation Chicago / Eric Allix Rogers)

The move is the latest development in a fight over historic preservation and courthouse security. The government has also been pushing to demolish the Century and Consumers buildings, two early 20th century skyscrapers located to the east of the Dirksen Federal Building.

The Warehouse (l), Werner Brothers Storage Building and Continental Can Company Building are all the 2023 list of Preservation Chicago's Most Endangered buildings. (Credits: Serhii Chrucky, Ward Miller, Serhii Chrucky / Preservation Chicago)

“The Warehouse should be protected as a symbol of the rich history of Chicago’s LBGTQ+ African-American community, the incredible story of house music and the groundbreaking impact that Frankie Knuckles had on the sound of modern music today,” Preservation Chicago said.

(WTTW News)

There’s more to Chicago’s architectural legacy than its gleaming downtown skyline. All throughout the city, there are buildings that inspire — you just have to know where to look.

The Century Building, 202 S. State St., built in 1915, architects Holabird and Roche. Consumers Building, 220 S. State St., built in 1913, architects Jenney, Mundie and Jensen. (Preservation Chicago / Eric Allix Rogers)

The fate of a pair of endangered 20th century State Street skyscrapers remains up in the air after the Commission on Chicago Landmarks punted during its monthly meeting Thursday when it came time to decide whether to afford the Century and Consumers buildings landmark status.

(WTTW News)

The Hetherington family of architectural designers worked on more than 100 homes in Beverly, Morgan Park and Mt. Greenwood. A new tour is highlighting some of the homes and some of the fascinating residents.

Buildings at 220 S. State St. and 202 S. State St. are being recommended for demolition as part of a security plan for the Dirksen Federal Building. (WTTW News)
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The 1913 Consumers Building at 202 South State St., and its neighbor, the 1915 Century Building, were designed by two of Chicago’s most storied architecture firms. But multiple federal agencies have concluded the towers’ locations just east of the Dirksen Federal Building render the country’s largest federal courthouse vulnerable to attack and pose too much of a security risk to keep.

Federal Building in Chicago, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. (WTTW News)

"Energy Revolution," a new exhibit at the Chicago Architecture Center, looks at climate change through the lens of architecture, with an emphasis on energy consumption. When it comes to energy efficient insulation, less is not more.

An interior view of the Fine Arts Building, 410 S. Michigan Ave. (WTTW News)

The building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., opened as the Studebaker Building in 1885 as a showroom and assembly plant for carriages. Thirteen years later, it was remodeled and repurposed as the Fine Arts Building.

A Midcentury Modern office building on Peterson Avenue, one of several on a stretch that spans from West Ridge to North Park. (Preservation Chicago / Max Chavez)

Preservation Chicago has announced its annual list of most endangered buildings and landscapes, representing pieces of the city’s history most threatened with imminent erasure.

Some photographers explore cities through their neglected places. At personal risk and sometimes legal jeopardy, they look for beauty in forgotten and faded locales. (Credit: Jerry Olejniczak)

Some photographers explore cities through their neglected places. At personal risk and sometimes legal jeopardy, they look for beauty in forgotten and faded locales. Meet Jerry Olejniczak, one such photographer in search of “Abandoned Chicagoland.”