If you want to see evidence of the

If you want to see evidence of the recession’s impact on skyscraper construction, you don’t need to pore over spreadsheets or the architectural billings index.

You just need to go to 400 N. Lake Shore Dr., where you’ll find a pit about 100 ft. wide and 80 ft. deep. The ill-fated Chicago Spire was supposed to be the tallest building in the western hemisphere. But the twisting 2,000-foot tower failed to attract enough financing and was hit with foreclosure lawsuits. Now it’s the most-watched hole in the ground in Chicago real estate.

In June real estate developer Related Cos. of New York reportedly entered talks to buy the Spire's discounted debt. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment “as it is currently the subject of litigation.”

One-time Chicagoan and curious citizen Andrew Wambach remembers the excitement surrounding the Spire.

“One of the things I loved about Chicago was its iconic skyline,” said Wambach, 28, who moved to Minnesota in April. “In Minneapolis we have about three towers and that’s i

So he asked us:

When will Chicago get its next super tall skyscraper?

Massive developments are difficult to design and build. But when they do happen, it’s generally because two important factors came together to make building up pay off: egos and economics.

But first, just how tall is that?

Andrew didn’t know this when he asked the question, but “supertall” is an objective term. Chicago’s own Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is the authority on such matters. They deem any building over 300 meters, or 984 feet, “supertall.” Six buildings in Chicago qualify: The Trump Tower, Willis Tower, Aon Center, John Hancock Center, AT&T Corporate Center, and Two Prudential Plaza.

Walk into any major architectural office and you’ll see plenty of renderings pinned to the wall, showing buildings reaching great heights. They’re just in Jeddah, Seoul, Abu Dhabi, Beijing — not Chicago.

In 2011 CTBUH even had to add a new category of tall building to reflect the explosive growth of tall buildings in recent years. So-called “megatall” buildings stand at least 600 meters (1,968 feet) tall. There are only two complete megatall buildings: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and the Royal Hotel Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Construction topped out this month on the Shanghai Tower, 632 meters (2,074 feet) tall.