The shopping mall occupies the lower floors of an unusual building. The Art Deco McGraw-Hill Building, built in 1928 and a designated City of Chicago historic landmark, was demolished but its facade dismantled, cleaned, stored, and re-hung on the exterior of a new building on the same site. The Conrad Hotel, a luxury affiliate of Hilton Hotels, occupies the upper floors of the building. (The hotel opened under the Le Meridien flag and was converted in 2006.) The mall also occupies a topographically unusual site, as Michigan Avenue at this location is elevated, gently sloping back down to ground level from its bi-level bridge over the Chicago River. Furthermore, Nordstrom occupies floors one through four of a full-block building one block behind Michigan Avenue, at the southwest corner of N. Rush Street and E. Grand Avenue. The only location available for a prominent entry on Michigan Avenue was over Grand Avenue, where the developer built an 80-foot-tall (24 m) atrium between the former McGraw-Hill Building and the existing Marriott Hotel. 

 

The mall curves southwest through the building and ramps up several feet, accommodating a rise in Grand Avenue below, then spans Rush Street to meet Nordstrom. Under development agreements, no leasable retail space occupies the actual bridges. Street-level retail space also exists along the ground-level streets underneath the mall, whose first floor is actually quite high above ground level. The complex's architects were Anthony Belluschi Associates, with OWP&P, Farr Associates (preservation consultant), and Callison (Nordstrom building). The McGraw-Hill Building's original architect was Thielbar and Fugard.

 

The mall also has an ambitious artistic program for a speculative commercial building. The main atrium is crowned by a 54' ring of dichromic glass, which refracts and scatters incoming light. Several decorative limestone panels of Roman gods, carved by sculptor Gwen Creighton Lux and formerly on the north facade of the McGraw-Hill Building, were installed on the first floor of the atrium. A changing selection of Lego sculptures within the mall draws attention to the presence of Lego.

 

Two other structures within the North Bridge complex are architecturally notable. The construction of the AMC Loews 600 North Michigan building also created controversy, as it included the demolition of the Arts Club of Chicago (interior by Mies van der Rohe, 1951), a private art gallery. Construction proceeded after the Arts Club relocated its famed floating staircase to a new building. North Bridge's oldest building is the American Medical Association office building at 515 N. State Street, the first American building designed by architect Kenzo Tange (in 1990).