Dark Knight Trilogy

4. 35 East Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL

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Named after it's address, 35 East Wacker Drive, formerly known as the Jeweler's Building, served as the exterior for Gotham City Courthouse in Batman Begins. This city landmark, built in 1927, was once known as the tallest building of the world outside of New York. It's notable Roman and Greek influence on the Gothic style architecture made a fitting facade for the center of Gotham's corruption. Director Nolan introduced the building as Gotham City Courthouse by lingering on the exterior, giving adamant time to appreciate the innovative structure of the building. The most striking feature of 35 East Wacker Drive is it's dome top, or cupola, which currently functions as a conference room, but was originally employed as a restaurant and, more famously, as a speakeasy run by gangster Al Capone during the prohibition period. Capone wasn't the only criminal to infiltrate the Jeweler's Building, many lawmen's pockets were filled with dirty money, polluting the symbol that once stood for justice. Here Gotham's most notorious and deranged criminals were tried, but most were found not guilty through lack of evidence, released on early parole, or, as in Batman Begins, deemed criminally insane by the crazed Dr. Crane and sent to be illegally experimented on at Arkham Asylum. Filmmaker Nolan gives credit to the building's architecture once more in an iconic panoramic shot of the cupola where Batman is perched on a turret at the top of the forty story building, looking out over the city of Gotham.