Sears Tower Architect Dies

Bruce J. Graham, the architect who designed the Sears Tower and remade Chicago’s skyline, has died at his home in Hobe Sound, Florida, at age 85. His son George said the cause of death was complications from Alzheimer’s. Graham worked for the firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill from 1951 until he retired in 1989, and played a huge role in making Chicago a world-class city for architecture. His most famous buildings are the John Hancock Center (100 stories) and the Sears Tower (110 stories and the world’s tallest when its building was finished in 1974). “Downtown Chicago—the Loop—shows Mr. Graham’s fingerprints at every turn,” the New York Times writes. He also designed buildings in Kong, Cairo, Barcelona, Seoul, and other American cities.