The Leaning Tower of Niles, Illinois was finished in 1934 by entrepreneur Robert Ilg as part of a recreation park for employees of the Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company of Chicago. It is located at 6300 W. Touhy Avenue and it is a half size copy of the unique tower in Pisa, Italy, which is a Niles sister city.




Some wonder that part of the inspiration to construct the tower was to observe the 600th anniversary of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. A more likely clarification is its original functional reason, to store water for outdoor leisure swimming pools. In 1960, the descendants of Robert Ilg contributed part of the park for the building of the Leaning Tower YMCA. Other facilities of the employees' recreational park incorporated a wooden toboggan run, which was in decaying but still evident in the 1960s.

In 1991, the village of Niles, Illinois recognized a sister city pact with Pisa, Italy. A $1.2 million Renovation of the Leaning Tower of Niles was started in 1995 by Mayor Nicholas Blase and the Board of Trustees, and was finished in 1996, civilizing the structure, facade and the Plaza area. The Leaning Tower Plaza area now has four fountains and a 30-foot pool. Leaning Tower Concert Series are Summertime open-air music concerts supported by the village since the 1990s.