Lake Point Tower (Chicago, Illinois)
N 41° 53.490 W 087° 36.738
16T E 449204 N 4637910
The Lake Point Tower, black unusually shaped 197 m tall skyscraper, is located on the peninsula which leads into Navy Pier, one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. This building is one of architectural dominants of the city's skyline...
Waymark Code: WM6HMP
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 06/07/2009
Views: 8
The beautiful Lake Point Tower was designed by John Heinrich and George Schipporeit, who were both students of famous architect Mies van der Rohe. The design for Lake Point Tower was partially derived from a sketch Mies van der Rohe made in 1921.
The original proposal made by Schipporeit & Heinrich consisted of a building with 4 wings, but was ultimately replaced by a design which included only 3 wings. The advantages of the latter were a shorter construction time and a 120° angle between the wings, so that the apartments would not face each other. The design also offered less surface area exposed to direct wind loads in comparison to the conventional rectangular designs.
The Lake Point Tower was completed in 1968 and was at the time the highest apartment building in the world, reaching a height of 196 m. The plan to construct two other similarly shaped towers on both sides were never realised. The Tower still stands on its own near Lake Michigan's shore, a bit distant from the downtown cluster of high-rises. This makes it possible to view the bronze curtain walls of Lake Point Tower from all sides.
A few apartments in the building were formerly used as temporary housing for actors working in Chicago, including Anthony Quinn, Tom Cruise, Dolly Parton, and Tom Selleck.