Autobiography of a Skyscraper - Francis Greenburger

A highly original inside look at how vision becomes reality in constructing the modern urban landscape.
Building a skyscraper requires more than steel and concrete—it takes a wide array of people, each with their particular skills. In Autobiography of a Skyscraper, legendary developer Francis Greenburger offers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the construction of Chicago's 1000M tower, describing the way almost 1,000 people—from concrete workers to concierges, architects to investors—transformed an empty lot into a 74-story landmark.
“Real estate isn't about property; it's about people,” Greenburger reflects in this book that, throughout, underscores his point. This is the story of an Italian immigrant who bet his family's entire inheritance on a hole in the ground; of window installers dancing on narrow ledges 800 feet above Michigan Avenue; of a chief concierge managing a community of 700 residents across 80,000 square feet of amenities; and of the safety manager who "babysits grown men" to keep them safe hundreds of feet in the air. These and dozens more stories turn the spotlight on the extraordinary people who brought 1000M to life and keep it running today.
The story unfolds with cinematic scope—helicopter shoots for marketing renderings, midnight crane installations, the delicate negotiation of moving a 5,000-pound marble sculpture through a lobby before the revolving doors are installed. Yet it never loses sight of the human sca
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