860–880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments

Chicago, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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Located in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood, 860–880 Lake Shore Drive comprises a pair of identical glass-and-steel apartment towers designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in the International Style, marking his first high-rise design. Rising 270 feet across 26 stories, each tower occupies a rectangular footprint organized on a 3-by-5 grid of square bays measuring 21 feet per side; the south tower is oriented west–east while the north tower runs north–south. The design features steel superstructures with concrete encasement and structural cores, ground-level arcades and glass-walled lobbies, and a distinctive fenestration pattern above the second story where I-beam mullions separate vertical window divisions while horizontal spandrel panels create a rhythmic grid. Originally housing 116 six-bedroom apartments and 152 three-and-a-half-room units, the towers were conceived by developer Herbert Greenwald as a glass-and-steel alternative to an earlier design for the nearby Promontory Apartments. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated Chicago Landmarks.