Chicago’s Ultimate Lakefront Condos

When it comes to lakefront living in Chicago, one building stands out among the rest: Lake Point Tower. Whether you’re familiar with the name or not, you are sure to recognize the sleek, black three-winged condominium that stands by itself as the city’s only high-rise structure east of Lake Shore Drive. The 70-story architectural landmark is located on the peninsula that leads to Navy Pier, which gives it the exclusive honor of being the only Chicago residence that offers Lake Michigan views from every single window in every single unit. Lake Point Tower has received several awards since its construction in the mid-1960s and has had many famous residents over the years. But celebrity inhabitants and architectural accolades aside, this 752-unit residence can easily be called Chicago’s ultimate lakefront condos.

Given its unique setting, water surrounds nearly all sides of Lake Point Tower. The building, designed by Schipporeit-Heinrich Associates (reportedly as their very first architectural commission), has a very special shape that prevents residents from seeing inside each others’ windows. And while the curvature of the building’s sides prohibits neighbor-spying, it is ideal for providing unobstructed views of Lake Michigan. In fact, you can see the lake from each individual window in every condo at Lake Point Tower.

Part of Lake Point’s signature style is created by the more than 11,000 double-pane windows that form a seamless glass curtain-wall façade. The reflective dark exterior soars 645 feet into the air, contrasted by the bright blue background of sky meeting lake water. At the top of the building is a non-revolving circular restaurant with some of the best lakefront vistas in the city. Residential units occupy 65 levels of the tower, which was also designed with a three-story 700-car garage and a 2.5-acre outdoor oasis on the third floor known as Skyline Park. The private wooded area has its own lagoon, playground, flower gardens and barbeque grills.

This one-of-a-kind Chicago lakefront condo is entered through a lobby boasting two waterfalls. A doorman is on duty 24 hours a day and there’s around-the-clock security. Building amenities include a recently-renovated first-class health club with an indoor pool, hot tubs, steam rooms, saunas and racquetball court. Lake Point also has a luxurious outdoor pool and additional on-site conveniences such as dry cleaners, grocery store, bike storage, valet parking and management services.

Residents of Lake Point Tower can choose from several different floor plans. The layouts range from studio spaces to three-bedroom condos, plus penthouse units with up to four bedrooms. Throughout the years, a number of famous faces have lived in this lakeside dwelling. Among the list of notable inhabitants are Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, Halle Berry, Tom Cruise, Alice Cooper, Natalie Cole, a bunch of baseball superstars including Sammy Sosa and Ozzie Guillen, and basketball celeb Scottie Pippen, not to mention the a founder of the Weather Channel John Coleman and numerous professional architects.

Developers broke ground on Lake Point in 1964. At the time, it was going to be the first of three identical buildings. However that plan obviously did not pan out and Lake Point stands alone to this day.

Construction was completed in 1968 and in 1969 the project won the Distinguished Building Award from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). In 1970, it received the Honor Award from both the Chicago Chapter and National AIA. Lake Point was converted to condos in 1988 and earned the AIA Chicago Chapter’s 25 Year Award in 1994. Even after all this time, Lake Point is still pulling in the prestigious acknowledgements – last September it was named #26 on Chicago magazine’s list of Top 40 Buildings in Chicago.

For nearly three decades, Lake Point was considered the tallest all-residential building in the world. Now it may not be known for its height, but these condos still offer the epitome of lakefront living in Chicago. And, due to a city ordinance that prevents high-rise construction east of Lake Shore Drive, Lake Point Tower will hold its singular status forevermore.

Spencer Mason writes about Chicago condos along with many other real estate in Chicago topics.