History of Chicago upper income Americans continued to move from the city for better housing and schools in the suburbs. Office building resumed in the 1960s. When completed in 1974, the Sears Tower, now known as the Willis Tower, at 1451 feet was the world's tallest building. It was designed by the famous Chicago firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which designed many of the city's famous buildings. Mayor Richard J. Daley served 1955–1976, dominating the city's machine politics by his control of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee, which selected party nominees, who were usually elected in the Democratic stronghold. Daley took
Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex a modillioned cornice. It housed water tanks for firefighting on the upper levels, as well as offices and secretarial training facilities. It also housed the early broadcast facilities for WLS-AM. In 2015, it was refurbished and reopened to the public as the "John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Tower". It now houses non-profit groups and offices, including a classroom on the 12th floor for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Sears Roebuck plaque is still visible on top of the building. The Sears, Roebuck and Company Administration Building is a broad five-story masonry building, occupying about 3/4