Merchandise Mart, Illinois

When it was built in 1930, the 4,000,000 square foot Merchandise Mart, in downtown Chicago, was the largest building in the world. It was built by Marshall Field, the retailer, as a centralized wholesale warehouse for its nationwide sales network. At the end of WWII, it was purchased by members of the Kennedy family, and over the next fifty years, contributed to the family’s post-war wealth and power (until they sold it in 1998). The squat art-deco edifice is still an impressive sight on the city’s architectural boat tour.