Architect Mies van der Rohe with his landmark buildings, 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive, in the distance. The photographer is believed to have been Slim Aarons.
Courtesy of 860-880 Lake Shore Drive
In honor of Mies van der Rohe’s birthday on March 27, we wanted to post about his amazing influence on the course of architecture. Mies has left a huge impact on the city of Chicago and is particularly dear to us as Suzanne lived in his 900-910 building when she first moved to Chicago.
860-880 North Lake Shore Drive was built between 1949 and 1951 and was among the most influential buildings of the 1950s and 1960s. It was a struggle to get the two towers built, as they were the first all glass and steel residential skyscrapers ever attempted. Additionally, developers were hesitant to undertake the project because they were worried about an absence of privacy for the residence living in an all glass building.
Today, however, they are some of the most sought after condos in the city and they have served as prototypes to glass and steel skyscrapers throughout the world. Proportions and simplicity are key to making these buildings classics. Each building is comprised of 15, 21 ft. square bays. The plaza level created a natural green space, unprecedented at the time but repeated often since. It is no surprise that in 1980 the buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places and in 1996 they became the first buildings designed by Mies to receive Chicago Landmark status.
For more information, see the 860 / 880 Lake Shore Drive website here:
860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive under construction c. 1950
Image courtesy of The Man on Five
A view of 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive looking up c. 2013.
Image courtesy of the Think Architect Blog
An oil on canvas by Enrique Santana, 860-880 North Lake Shore Drive, 2014.
Image courtesy of Maya Polsky Gallery