What was the estimated cost of the Chicago Daily News Building when work began in 1928?
Riverside Plaza is the Chicago Art Deco office building originally constructed for the Chicago Daily News beside the Chicago River. At the start of construction in March 1928, TIME reported an estimated USD 8 million cost for the 25-storey newspaper headquarters, which also incorporated rented upper-floor offices and a plaza over railroad tracks. TIME reported that the newspaper had moved into its new building by June 1929. The USD 8 million was a contemporary estimate, not a verified final construction invoice.
Original budget
$8 million
Cost basis: 1928
The short answer
$8 million
TIME reported an estimated USD 8 million cost when construction of the Chicago Daily News Building began in March 1928. It did not describe the figure as a final invoice. The newspaper had moved into the new building by June 1929.
Cost evidence
Basis of the published figure
What the number includes
Cost scope
The amount is a contemporaneous estimate for the original newspaper headquarters, including its planned office floors and plaza. It does not claim to be the audited 1929 outturn or the cost of later Riverside Plaza alterations.
Project metrics
Key dimensions
- Heightchicagology.com
- 92.05 m
Project record
Opened or launched
TIME - The Press: New Building, 17 June 19291929
Project context
About Riverside Plaza
The Chicago Daily News commissioned a 25-storey steel-and-limestone building by Holabird & Roche beside the Chicago River. The design incorporated offices for rent and a public plaza above active railroad tracks.
Reading the data
How to interpret the figure
The USD 8 million estimate comes from TIME's 12 March 1928 construction-start report; its 17 June 1929 report establishes occupancy, not a final price. Both figures are historical nominal USD without currency conversion or inflation adjustment.