Buildings at 860-880 Lake Shore Drive

About this property

860–880 Lake Shore Drive (officially 860–880 North Lake Shore Drive) are a pair of glass-and-steel apartment towers along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Located in the Streeterville neighborhood, within the Near North Side community area, the buildings were designed in the International Style by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and were his first high-rise design. Holsman, Holsman, Klekamp & Taylor and Pace Associates were also involved with the design as the associated architects. Each of the towers is identical in shape and materials, measuring 270 feet (82 m) tall with 26 stories. The buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are designated as a Chicago Landmark. The two buildings occupy rectangular footprints, being arranged on a 3-by-5 grid of square bays, each measuring 21 feet (6.4 m) on each side. The south tower at 860 North Lake Shore Drive is oriented west–east, while the north tower at 880 North Lake Shore Drive is oriented north–south. There is an arcade at the ground (first) story of both buildings, as well as glass walls around each building's lobbies. On and above the second story of both buildings, the windows are separated vertically by mullion bars with I-beams, and they are divided horizontally by spandrel panels. Each bay has four window panes per story, while different bays are separated vertically by steel plates. Both buildings have a steel superstructure encased in concrete, as well as a structural core for elevators, stairs, hallways, bathrooms, and kitchens. The basement has a garage, and each building's ground story has a lobby. On the upper floors, there were originally a combined 116 six-bedroom apartments and 152 three-and-a-half-room apartments. Many original design elements remain intact, though the apartments have been rearranged over the years. The real estate developer Herbert Greenwald became acquainted with Mies in 1946, hiring the architect to design the Promontory Apartments on Lake Shore Drive. The design of 860–880 Lake Shore Drive is derived from an alternative design for the Promontory Apartments with a glass-and-steel facade. Greenwald and Robert Hall McCormick announced in April 1949 that they would build two 25-story cooperative apartment towers at 860–880 Lake Shore Drive. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 17, 1949, and almost all the apartments had been sold by mid-1951. Residents moved in even before the buildings were formally completed in August 1952. The lobbies and their plaza were restored starting in 2008. Despite initial controversy over their unconventional style, which was shared by few buildings in the United States, the 860–880 Lake Shore Drive towers were highly regarded after they were completed. After the towers were finished, many glass-box skyscrapers were built worldwide.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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