“Millions of people online have taken interest in the Pittsfield Building — a historic skyscraper in the Loop that’s long been neglected, with a portion of the interior in disrepair. But the property is poised for a major renovation, and one developer hs taken to TikTok to document its transformation.

“Tom Liravongsa — or as social media knows him, Tom the Skyscraper Guy — is determined to turn the building’s dilapidated floors into sleek apartments, while keeping its classic Gothic and art deco architecture intact.

“One video that netted 8 million views on TikTok showed Liravongsa, 42, using the building’s old-school mail chute to explain why the 142-year-old invention was later banned. The answer? Fire safety.

“‘Random things in my 100-year-old skyscraper that just make sense,’ he said in the video, while carrying what looks like a large gold Gothic-style lamp. He then shows off features of the building like ‘a hidden room that isn’t on the original blueprints” and ‘a speakeasy from Chicago prohibition days.’

“The Pittsfield Building was Chicago’s tallest building when it was completed in 1927, according to a 2001 report recommending landmark designation by the Department of Planning and Development. It looked the part as a classic 1920s skyscraper with its ‘luxurious building materials, finely detailed Art Deco and Gothic Revival ornamentation,’ according to the report.

“Gray terra cotta, polished black granite and bronze detailing take center stage with the building’s exterior. Inside is a five-story atrium with a giant chandelier, hand-carved copper ceilings with Spanish Gothic Revival-style detailing and brass-plated elevator doors.

“He expects to start construction in the next year, and is still seeking investors for the project that he said could reach ‘into the hundreds of millions’ because of the restoration work.

“He said the city has been helpful in expediting the process, especially to address the deteriorating terra cotta that has been crumbling for years. Scaffolding was installed in 2020 to protect pedestrians from falling debris.

“The city knows quite a bit about the building, and they know it’s in disrepair. And we’ve been actively trying to get it fixed and go through [building code] violations. … They’re being very helpful because they know that this building’s been sitting here forever, and they need to do something,’ he said.

“‘What’s really important is getting the building to a term that I learned recently — a living landmark. Oftentimes people think [it] is just a site you go [to] and nothing’s happening, but ultimately, it should be something that is experienced and people are able to explore it and that makes it a living landmark,’ he said. (Rush, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/30/25)

Read the full story at Chicago Sun-Times

• Chicago landmark Pittsfield Building went viral on TikTok. Meet the guy who made it happen.
• Tom Liravongsa — or as social media knows him, Tom the Skyscraper Guy — has racked up millions of views on videos about the 38-story tower that he purchased in 2023, Mariah Rush, Chicago Sun-Times, 5/30/25
• ‘The Skyscraper Guy’, WGN News, 6/25/25
• I bought a nearly 100-year-old skyscraper in Chicago and want to preserve its identity while making a few changes. Here’s what I plan to do, Jordan Pandy, Business Insider, 6/1/25
• TikTok is obsessed with this investor who bought 30 floors of a Chicago skyscraper; Real estate investor Tom Liravongsa is documenting his ambitious renovation of a historic tower—floor by floor, Eve Upton-Clark, Fast Company, 4/18/25
• Investor pitches office-to-residential conversion for Pittsfield Building, Rachel Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 3/11/25
• Residential conversion planned for office space at Pittsfield Building; The 1920s-era skyscraper is already partially converted into apartments, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 3/13/25
• Did a city rezoning strip the Pittsfield Building of its value? A jury could decide, Rachel Herzog, Crain’s Chicago Business, 1/27/25
• Is the Pittsfield Building cursed? There’s no reason the historic Loop landmark couldn’t be another LondonHouse or Chicago Athletic Association hotel—well, except for a long string of bad breaks that now includes allegations that its Chinese-Canadian majority owner is guilty of running a financial scam, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 8/3/2018
• Michigan investor takes over Pittsfield Building stake, but court battle drags on, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/15/23
• Morgan Reed gets day in court over Pittsfield Building rezone; Miami-based developer claims city violated Constitution’s 5th Amendment in zoning out hotel uses, The Real Deal Staff, 1/28/25

• After years of neglect, a downtown landmark goes up for sale; A new owner of the Pittsfield Building could pull the 38-story tower out of its funk, ending a dysfunctional drama that included an international financial scandal and a bitter court battle, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 6/15/22
• The long-stalled redo of this troubled Loop tower reaches a turning point. Trying to predict the future of the Pittsfield and another prominent property owned by the same investor—the huge Motorola campus in Harvard—has been next to impossible. But that could be about to change, Alby Gallun, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/21/21
• The History of the Pittsfield Building in Chicago, Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D., Digital Research Library of Illinois History Journal, 3/28/20
• Pittsfield Building Chicago Landmark Designation Report 12/12/2001