John Hancock Center

Located in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago is the monolithic John Hancock Center, the sixth-tallest building in the country that overlooks the famous Magnificent Mile. The John Hancock Center was originally built for the John Hancock Insurance company in 1969, but has changed hands several times since then, just like the Sears Tower. Also like the Sears Tower, the John Hancock Center was worked on by architect Fazlur Khan, which is evident in pioneering structural support features such as the vertically-placed X-braces, evident on all four sides of the edifice. This obsidian titan is home for not only office space, but also condos, restaurants and an open-air observation deck on the 94th floor, which was recently renamed from John Hancock Observatory to 360° Chicago. While not as high up as the Sears Tower’s observation deck, 360° Chicago offers a unique downwards-facing view known as Tilt, which was only recently installed. The observation deck and surrounding shopping areas can be popular enough to make it difficult to find a spot, so its best to book a John Hancock Center parking space ahead of time with ParkWhiz, rather than look for a spot from the observation deck.