East Lake Shore Drive District, Historic district along Lake Michigan in Streeterville, Chicago, United States.
The East Lake Shore Drive District is a historic district in Chicago made up of eight residential buildings from the early 20th century, lined up directly along the shore of Lake Michigan. The buildings stand side by side, forming a continuous row with European-style details such as cornices, bay windows, and ornate entrances.
The buildings were put up between the 1910s and 1920s, many of them designed by the firm Marshall & Fox, known for their work on upscale Chicago projects. In the early 1980s, the district was designated a Chicago Landmark, which secured its protection going forward.
The district takes its name from its position along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, where wealthy residents settled from the early 1900s onward. Walking past the buildings today, you still get a sense of how this stretch was treated as one of the most desirable addresses in the city.
The district is best seen from the lakefront path that runs along the water, which is open to the public. Since the buildings are private residences, you can only view them from outside, but the facades are clearly visible from the walkway.
All eight buildings have kept their original layout without a single modern structure breaking the row, which is unusual for a prime waterfront location in a large city. This means the streetscape today looks much the same as it did when the last building was completed over a century ago.
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