Lake Point Tower

Infobox Skyscraper
building_name= Lake Point Tower


year_built= 1968
location= Chicago, Illinois, USA
roof=645 feet (197 m)
height_stories= 70
construction_period= 1965-1968
destroyed=
floor_area=
emporis_id= 116956

Lake Point Tower is a high-rise residential building located on a promontory of the Lake Michigan lakefront in downtown Chicago, just north of the Chicago River at 505 North Lake Shore Drive. It rises somewhat apart from the urban cluster of downtown Chicago in a composition that sets off and punctuates the skyline. The building is also the only skyscraper east of Lake Shore Drive.

Development

The building was conceived and developed by William F. Hartnett, Jr., Chairman and Founder of Hartnett-Shaw Development Company, developer of over 260 residential and commercial real estate developments in the United States from 1961-1983. The building designers were John Heinrich and George Schipporeit, designing under the firm name of Schipporeit and Heinrich, who were students of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. It was completed in 1968, is over 600 feet tall, and was the highest apartment building in the world at that time. It was the first all electric high rise residential building in the world and pioneered the concept of the "Park in the City" being the first such residential complex in a major city to have a two and one half acre park and waterfalls three stories above ground.

Building plan

The body of the building encompasses 900 apartments (now privately owned condominiums). It has a reinforced concrete structure and a triangular core of elevators and a stairwell which can absorb horizontal forces. Because of this, the perimeter pillars on the facade do not need to be large as they only have to bear the vertical loads.

The building's plan is composed of three equal prongs extending from a central core, and alights atop a masonry podium. The exteriors of the prongs are gently curved, giving the exterior of the building a rich, gleaming form. It is often described as having been inspired by a study model of a curvilinear high-rise building made by Mies van der Rohe during the early phase of his career, but is much taller than that proposed building, more regular in form, and its exterior glass curtain wall is tinted.

The construction of the Chicago Spire will somewhat interfere with the view of the skyline from the building. The two buildings are on opposite sides of Lake Shore Drive near the Navy Pier.

Famous residents

Lake Point Tower has been home to many affluent Chicagoans past and present, including:

* Sammy Sosa, formerly of the Chicago Cubs baseball team
* Alice Cooper, rock singer, songwriter and musician
* Ozzie Guillén, Chicago White Sox manager
* Andre Dawson, former Chicago Cubs outfielder
* Scottie Pippen, former Chicago Bulls player
* Goldie Hawn

Position in Chicago's skyline

References

*"Skyscrapers", Antonino Terranova, White Star Publishers, 2003 (ISBN-8880952307)
* In 2007, the American Institute of Architects [http://www.aia150.org/] listed Lake Point Tower as one of America's 150 favorite structures.

See also

* Chicago architecture
* List of buildings
* List of skyscrapers
* List of tallest buildings in Chicago
* List of tallest buildings in the United States
* World's tallest structures

External links

* [http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=116956 Emporis listing]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=505+North+Lake+Shore+Drive,+Chicago,+IL+60611&ie=UTF8&z=16&t=h&om=1&iwloc=addr Google Maps]