Lake Point Tower is a residential skyscraper located on a promontory of the Lake Michigan waterfront in Chicago, just north of the Chicago River at 505 North Lake Shore Drive. Completed in 1968, it has a curving three wing design and is in the Streeterville neighborhood on the Near North Side. Located adjacent to Navy Pier, the building is the only skyscraper in the city east of Lake Shore Drive.
The architects for Lake Point Tower were John Heinrich and George Schipporeit, working under the firm name of Schipporeit and Heinrich; the two were students of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the best known architects of the Bauhaus movement and International Style school, who taught at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Lake Point Tower was completed in 1968, is approximately 645 feet (197 m) tall, and was the tallest apartment building in the world at that time. The project developer was William F. Hartnett, Jr., chairman and founder of Hartnett-Shaw Development Company, which was responsible for more than 260 residential and commercial real estate developments in the United States from 1961–1983.
Because of its height and lakeside site, the skyscraper had to be designed to withstand high winds. At the center of the building is a triangular core, 59 feet wide, that contains nine elevators and three stairwells. This core holds all of the vertical weight of the building, allowing the perimeter columns on the facade to be much smaller.
Radiating from the core are three arms that form an asymmetrical Y-shaped floor plan. The original four-armed design was changed to a three-armed design (120° apart). The outer walls are curved to allow multiple distinct views from single apartments.[2]
Well known for its graceful curves and picturesque location, Lake Point Tower is the only major private structure on the east side of Lake Shore Drive. Its position between Lake Shore Drive and Navy Pier gives it unobstructed views in all directions that are protected by ordinances limiting construction on the city's waterfront.
Lake Point Tower was one of the first high-rise residential buildings in the world to feature all-electric appliances. It pioneered the concept of the "Park in the City," as the first residential complex in a major city[citation needed] to have its own two-and-one-half acre park—including a playground, pool, duck pond, and waterfalls — three stories above ground. There are shops and restaurants on the first two levels of the complex, under the park.
Film and television shot on location
Lake Point Tower has been host to many shoots including:
The Lake House (2006) Hospital reception area filmed in Lake Point Tower's lobby.
Divergent (2014) Briefly shown abandoned and decayed in a future Chicago. Huge Lake Michigan is shown to have transformed into a wetland in the same shot.
Station Eleven (2021) Frank's (Jeevan's brother) condominium.
