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Hint: Obsolescence Set In Quickly For This Major Skyscraper

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Welcome to CornerSpotter, Curbed's regular game in which you, fair readers, consult archival streetscape photos or postcard illustrations to identify the building(s) and/or location presented. Time to tap that reservoir of urban minutiae and flaunt it before your fellow readers. Fire away in the comments, and we'll reveal the correct identity and backstory tomorrow.

Another foray into 19th Century downtown Chicago yields this impressive office stock, designed by a famed architecture firm and owning the title of Chicago's tallest skyscraper for a few decades. A vertical feat when built, height regulations kept other construction from surpassing the tower for many years beyond the natural shelf life for such records. Handsome as it was, a key component of the interior space became obsolete almost immediately and dragged down the building's desirability. It was demolished mid-century and only recently replaced by something taller. What's the full story?
·Cornerspotter [Curbed Chicago]