The main entrance to the mall is a two-story set of escalators, with a waterfall between them and winding staircases at the sides.
- The podium contains a shopping mall anchored by Marshall Field & Co. and Lord & Taylor. The tower houses a Ritz Carlton Hotel, offices, and condominiums.
- The shopping mall is centered around an eight story terraced atrium with the most famous elevators in Chicago, housed in three bundled hexagonal glass tubes.
Popularly claimed to have been the only surviving structure after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the Chicago Water Tower was built in 1869 by architect William W. Boyington. While it was one of the only buildings within the fire district to survive, much of the city south of the Chicago River survived, including the home of Catherine O’Leary, in whose barn the fire is reputed to have begun.
The Chicago Water Tower is constructed of dolomitic limestone from Joliet, Illinois. Built in a castellated Gothic architectural style, it has a 154 foot (46 m) tall tower which originally hid a 138 foot (42 m) tall standpipe used to keep water flowing.
Though the building was designated a national landmark in 1969, there were three occasions (in 1906, 1918 and 1948) when the Chicago Water Tower’s existence was threatened. In each case, the building was saved by public outcry and the legend linking it to Chicago before the Great Fire.
In 1977 Water Tower Place brought the concept of vertical shopping malls to Chicago. The mall is in many respects an anomaly. Its populatity with out-of-towners and tourists is inexplicable, since its collection of stores can be found at many mainstream mall in the nation.