Tasteful friends, Lake Point Tower in Chicago

The $185 spent on staging really amps up the sophistication factor.

It is a very old building and I'll bet the HOAs are insane. The view is nice but there a better views to be had in Chicago. Traffic to and from home would be prohibitive. If I was in the market and it was in my budget it would get a 5/10.

The exterior is beautiful, but that apartment is dreadful. I don't think even the most skillful renovation could save it.

It's very heterosexualist.

Nebbish turned Kaween Realtor® alert!

Here's what's for sale in the building. I knew someone who lived there in its heyday---trust fund baby who was bipolar and spent himself into bankruptcy and a series of jobs that he lost. I believe he was escorted out of one place.

Can you see across the vast inland ocean?

I was attacked by a mob of Chicago Trump supporters here too. They took my sammich.

That’s quite a wide range of prices.

What R9 posted...I looked at every listing, not impressed with those condos. I love the view of the lake& the expressway, but not the condos. Some of those interiors are OLD. the kitchens-OMG!!

1) At one point in time Homeland Security purchased an entire floor and set up camp to use as a lookout on the Loop and Navy Pier.

2) A non-American MLB player (a resident at that time) decided to use his bathtub for a pig roast. This was especially unfortunate as the tub was poly-something and not iron. It set off a lot of alarms, I don't know if he got kicked out or not. I can tell you his GM was ready to kill him. The poor kid.

It looks like HOA fees and real estate taxes in Chicago have caught up with those charged on the West Coast.

I went to someone’s Christmas party there when I worked for Dean Witter in the 80s. The view was a ribbon of lake under sky. I refused to be impressed because I was a young miserable shit.

I lived in Chicago for 12 years. Loved it. Sure it's cold as fuck in the winter. Spend Nov-May in Palm Springs. It's a doable combo.

Just like The John Hancock and Marina City, it's nice from the outside but really oldish from the inside. Some nice ones are 400 Randolph, and them nice ones on Harbor Drive.

It says HOA is 78.00. That’s a pittance right?

Never mind, that’s just for a parking spot. I would probably be giving my Apt a 60s-70s look starting with thick shag carpet. If I lived there.

The top half of the Hancock sways when there’s strong winds. I was up there once visiting a friend and you could feel it.

The line "you can see Wilmette from here" in that real estate video is certainly not a selling point.

[quote] and them nice ones on Harbor Drive.

Them nice ones? Were you edumacated in Chicago?

I may be wrong but I think Oprah used to live in that building.

Those hideous old A/C units are an eyesore. That alone would make me not consider that building as a place to live.

Typical Chicago.

I have a mild crush on the nebbishy realtor.

It's an impressive building. Isolated on that side of the drive, private park, distinguished history. But it is kind of a monolith.

R13 splitting my life between Chicago and Palm Springs = an eternity between the 6th and 7th circles of Hell.

It’s always been the kind of building that everyone in Chicago is curious about (“imagine having those views!”) but it’s never been one of the absolutely premier buildings. And the location is actually horrible, very isolated for walking anywhere at all.

That realtor looks like he's slutty and would do whatever to get a deal...

These Chicago realtor videos are definitely flyover.

But isn't there a tunnel or a bridge to walk to that pier? How does one arrive at the Children's Museum via public transport? Bus?

I that carpet in the kitchen???

Chicago used to be much more affordable than the coasts but now real estate is soaring. Not unlike most major cities, just faster.

Are you high, R31? $1.2 million would barely get you into the “better part” of Hawthorne, CA.

A waiting room in a doctor’s office.

Tear off that BITCH of the carpeting and put hardwood floors where they ought to be!!

"Tear off that BITCH of the carpeting". What could this mean? What is a "Bitch of the carpeting"? Sounds like an aristocratic title. And tear him or her off? Off of what?

R35, see below:

The best views in Chicago are from this dated slab on Diversey. It gives you unobstructed views of Lincoln Park and the skyscrapers of the Magnificent Mile

R37 The best views in Chicago are from a departing airplane.

R32 - This is a common misperception. The tax rate for a city like Hawthorne is tiny in comparison to Chicago, so in the long term you get fucked sideways for all the property tax money you pay- and remember, none of that money goes towards building equity, nor does the property value increment at the same rate.

I'm no saying it is, but in the last 50 years on average, various CA coastal cities were/are cheaper than Chicago over long-term ownership. Whether that stays true in the next ten years, who knows.

You have no clue what you’re talking about^. Gibberish.

^ Financial analysis obviously isn't your strong point.

Cook County once had a bunch of different tax exemptions for primary properties. I wonder if they’ve expired.

…that’s someone’s idea of financial “analysis?” It’s barely English. 🙄

Gibberish: …property tax money you pay- and remember, none of that money goes towards building equity…

More gibberish: …nor does the property value increment at the same rate.

….the last 50 years on average, various CA coastal cities were/are cheaper than Chicago over long-term ownership. 🤡

R25 Doesn't have to be Palm Springs. A lot of people do Mexico for the winter too. Wherever it's warm is the key. Some friends wintered in Portugal.

that wall to wall carpet makes me nauseous.

As a pocketgay, I’ve always loved the energy-crisis era rooms with lower ceilings. Cozy.

R49 - what "energy crisis" was there in the mid 1960s when this tower was designed?

I'll wait.

Notable residents

David Axelrod, political consultant Ryne Sandberg, former Chicago Cubs 2nd baseman Sammy Sosa, former Chicago Cubs right fielder Alice Cooper, rock singer, songwriter and musician Ozzie Guillén, former Chicago White Sox shortstop and manager Andre Dawson, former Chicago Cubs outfielder Scottie Pippen, former Chicago Bulls player Goldie Hawn, actress Kurt Russell, actor Rich (Goose) Gossage, former Chicago White Sox pitcher Mickey Rooney, film and stage actor Joakim Noah, former Chicago Bulls center B. J. Armstrong, former Chicago Bulls player Helen Reddy, singer of "I am Woman; Hear Me Roar" Vince Evans, former Chicago Bears quarterback Roquan Smith, former Chicago Bears linebacker Vivica A. Fox, actress, producer, and television host

I doubt Goldie spends much time in Chicago. Why would she?

R47 it was in reply to a direct Palm Springs reference. In any event, if you live somewhere that you have to leave for part of the year due to weather…well, you’re in the wrong place!

Lots of people have homes in other states/countries. R53 sounds poor.

And you missed the point, entirely. If you’re going to make a gratuitous comment, at least make it interesting or humerous.

humorous* ;)

R54 …you do understand there’s a difference between needing to leave because of the weather and choosing to travel even though weather is not an issue. Very Midwestern of you…

I lived in this building when it was still all apartments from 1996 - 1999. I had a 19th floor studio which directly faced the lake. I paid $800 a month, raised to $825 by the time I moved. $100 a month for garage parking. Very well managed back then. Now the HOAs are $65o/mo.

R58 That place is like a giant party. So many gay men. I had friends that lived there and we'd pre game there on weekend nights. Boys everywhere!

R58, that was the site of a sober Blue Angels viewing party. The host was recovering from meth and there was one couch, two chairs, and lots of candles on the floor. I did not have a black lace shawl for a Stevie Nicks twirl.

We were a bunch of sober queens bitterly and actively not doing drugs.

You sound fun.

#6702 505 N Lake Shore Drive is not shown in your listing OP.

Tasteful Friends demand to know.

I would not turn it down.

Yes - Oprah used to live in this building. She had an entire floor. You could not get off on her floor - there was also a security guard.

Knew of an heiress who had 1/3 of a floor - it was fine, but nothing impressive. It got really hot in there in the summer with all of heat just pouring in.

Meh.

R63 She never lived in Lake Point Tower. She lived in Watertower Place.

Makes the Barbican look like the Dakota.

At the time Ope was on that keto diet that allowed her to eat a whole platter of chicken wings, her bodyguards steam-rolled me off the bike path in Grant park where she was jogging. She looked like a gelatinous weeble.

You're saying that an 1965 International Style skyscraper makes a 1982 Brutalist performing arts center look like an 1880 Beaux Arts German Renaissance apartment building?

[quote] [R37] The best views in Chicago are from a departing airplane.

No, the best views in Chicago I am told are from on top of the Wrigleyville Cum Dump’s ass and insatiable hole and repeatedly pounding it.

I’m saying that for the interiors of oddly-shaped vintage apartments with some architectural pretensions and strange built in fixtures, this is the worst possible case.

It’s not vintage—get it?!

It’s decrepit

I’d rather live in the Fisher Building.

It's great on the Lake Shore Drive skyline and the skyline generally. But the interior leaves a lot to be desired. Understandable - some buildings don't age that well. I'd honestly rather live in Marina Towers in terms of old, notable high rises. I like busy, dense skyline more so than the open lake, which, yeah, impressive, but not my thing.

I don't understand how you think "the views are awful," OP.

I lived in Evanston and Chicago from 1991 to 2002. I still go back, but not that often. What are some of the better received new luxury apartment/condo buildings since the early 2000s? What has gained status fast?

Very little gains fast status in Chicago. Hence the flyoverstan threads.

I could never live in a high rise where the units have no sort of balcony or terrace. I live on the 15th floor and I have 3 balconies, They're smallish, but at least I can get outside for some fresh air without having to leave the building.

You’ve not heard of windows? They are designed to provide fresh air, without “leaving” the building.

No terrace

Much nicer

I'd be paranoid leaning against the windows on the built in benchairs

R79 OOh it looks like the VIP section with glass tabletops to do lines off of. The dining room is where space aliens silently stick probes into your anus. The whole place can be hosed down afterwards, like a fancy car wash.

Early exposure to Architecture Digest.

ArchitecturAL Digest.

My ex-in-laws have been in the building in Lake Point Tower and Child#4(Richard Lucca (RL). All 3 of have told me that penthouse #6702 is really nice with the black windows panes. It looks better that the white.

The real problem with those Mies apartment buildings by the lake is: single pane windows.

Easily fixed.

If you can afford that shit in the first place, yes, probably so.

To R86...Seriously, single pane windows? That would be cold, living on Lake Michigan with that wind blowing.

It looks so dated, very 80s.

Yes, Phillywhore - I read an article by a person who lived in one of the Mies lakefront towers and they said that the super gave them an ice scraper (for the inside of the windows).

The view brings to min the scene in Station Eleven when, one by one, the lights in the skyscrapers go dark.

And then it gets very, very cold.

R90 please avail yourself of a public library and a book on 20th Century urban architectural history. This tower was designed in the 1960s based on Meis van der Rohe's 1922 design for a building in Berlin.

The Tower is not "very 80s".

These towers are "very 80s"

Like the Hancock, it is special less for the units than for all the amenities in the podium. The location is not actually convenient. The bronze window surrounds also give it a magical apect at sunrise.

And no you would not want to live in the Fisher Building.

Hest views of Chicago are from the pool at Buckingham Plaza. I think it's on 44 if I recall.

To R91, can u change the windows if u buy the condo? Single pane windows off Lake Michigan, that is insane.

Probably not?

The Fisher Building also looks its best in early morning light, R95. Terra cotta cladding? Probably not great on the inside.

The best view of Chicago is from Gary.

According to Wikipedia: Notable residents:

David Axelrod

Alice Cooper

Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell,

Mickey Rooney

Helen Reddy

Vivica A. Fox

That is not quite anyone’s honor roll

I wonder if any are air BnBs?

I hear Micky Rooney rents his out.

Nice to hear, r85

.

r62

That's a decent unit at r90 and not particularly 80s dated. Some of the features are strange - what's with the jagged broken mirror effect in the kitchen area? Weird.

Either way, under $680k for 140+ sq feet isn't bad for a major metro area with a view and amenities. That same dated space would easily go for $1.3 million+ in waterfront Boston and more in NYC.

[quote]That's a decent unit at [R90] and not particularly 80s dated.

As another poster pointed out: neither the building nor it's style is 1980s

It really looks 80s

Designed in 1921, built in 1967-69

But it still looks 80s. I can just imagine Charlie Sheen blowing lines in one of those apartments.

Most of the kitchens have been redone in what's pretty standard, if boring, style of the present, but the comments keep yammering about them being dated.

Meant to type "1400+ sq feet" in r106. No one would live in 140 sq feet (unless they are in NYC and desperate).

Who you callin’ desperate?

[quote]But it still looks 80s.

No it does not.

The design of the building is quintessentially International Style.

I think the solitary positioning and the International architectural style make LPT the Chicago sentinel on Lake Michigan. In a city with so many unique buildings, LPT is in a class by itself.

Yes, splendid views of the water treatment plant as well.

Antiseptic.

[quote]The design of the building is quintessentially International Style.

The design of the building looks like something from the 80s

OK R118, we get it: you're stupid.

................

Speaking of those 1960s International Style apartment buildings: what is the deal with 860 UN Plaza? It was once one of the most important apartment buildings in NYC: Johnny Carson, Walter Cronkite, Babe Paley, Truman Capote but I was surprised to see how relatively low prices are there. I guess it has lost all of its prestige.

It's lost all of its prestige. It's not 1965 anymore. Lot of people want modern building with all the modern amenities. Can't blame them.

Location, just for starters.

Do you know many new and more interesting buildings have come along since then, much less the number of better neighborhoods that have made a for a good place to park your millions.

One 1970s buildings that apparently has held on, is the Olympic Tower on 5th.

Not really^. Unless you’re Greek or Greek-adjacent.

I don't know if it looks 80s or not, but I'd agree that things can look of a decade even if not built right in that decade.

[quote]Not really^. Unless you’re Greek or Greek-adjacent.

Lots of Euros too. Maybe it's not exactly what it once was but it still commands some pretty high prices.

And interesting article, New York Magazine 2022:

Zzzz…

Signed, any new building on West 57th, just for starters. …really R125, do better to keep up.

This may well be the most tediously cunty Tasteful Friends thread

[quote]Signed, any new building on West 57th, just for starters. …really [R125], do better to keep up.

What on earth are you talking about?

Olympic Tower is not hot…surpassed by dozens of buildings…don’t play stupid.

R129 The stupid one is you.

Where did I ever say the building was hot?

What you said was “it still commands some pretty high prices. And interesting article, New York Magazine 2022”…

Which is incorrect—it does not, in comparison to other buildings; and the article was out of date even then—not interesting.

Bye👋🏼

[quote]What you said was “it still commands some pretty high prices. And interesting article, New York Magazine 2022”…

No. You're wrong.

What I said was: "Maybe it's not exactly what it once was but it still commands some pretty high prices." Do you understand the words "Maybe it's not exactly what it once was" ?

Furthermore: listings in the 10s, 20s and 30s are "some pretty high prices". Especially for a building of that era. Do they match Billionaire Row prices...of course not, never said they did.

And I posted the New York Magazine article because some might indeed find the article interesting.

Zzzzz rinse, repeat. Still Zzzz

Let's just ignore our resident idiot at R133.

Continuing the thread:

This is the most expensive new building in Chicago. Designed by 15 CPW's Robert AM Stern. A return to a pre-war asthetic.

One Bennett Park looks really nice, but why the tiny outdoor pool? I guess it is in Chicago and only seasonal, but, flip side, when it's available to use, you'd think the residents would want a substantial pool to use.