Promontory Apartments
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The Promontory Apartments is a 22-story
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
in
Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan south of Chicago Loop, the Loop. It is one of the city's 77 community areas of Chicago, community areas. ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, United States designed by
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...
. It was the first skyscraper Mies designed and was the first of his buildings to feature concepts such as an exposed skeleton. The
cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned a ...
building overlooking Burnham Park has 122 units.


History


Seeking an architect

In 1946, real estate developer Herbert Greenwald decided to build a new
cooperative housing A housing cooperative, or housing co-op, is a legal entity which owns real estate consisting of one or more residential buildings. The entity is usually a cooperative or a corporation and constitutes a form of housing tenure. Typically hou ...
high-rise in
Hyde Park, Chicago Hyde Park is a neighborhood on the South Side, Chicago, South Side of Chicago, Illinois, located on and near the shore of Lake Michigan south of Chicago Loop, the Loop. It is one of the city's 77 community areas of Chicago, community areas. ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. Although the area had several tall apartment buildings, this would be the first such building since the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. Greenwald discussed options with his neighbor, Charles B. Genther, an architect with Pace Associates. Greenwald sought the notoriety that a big-name architect would bring to the project. He first contacted
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, who offered to design the building for an advance payment of $50,000. Greenwald did not have enough money on hand to pay the architect, so he looked for other options. He contacted
Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...
, but the architect replied with a message stating that he would not design buildings in the United States.
Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer who created a wide array of innovative designs for buildings and monuments, including the General Motors Technical Center; the pa ...
also rejected the commission. Finally, he offered the project to
Walter Gropius Walter Adolph Georg Gropius (; 18 May 1883 – 5 July 1969) was a German-born American architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Bauhaus School, who is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. He was a founder of ...
in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, who rejected the commission as it was too far away from his main offices. Gropius suggested that Greenwald instead turn to
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect, academic, and interior designer. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. He is regarded as one of the pionee ...
, who had offices in Chicago. Genther had previously studied under Mies at the
Illinois Institute of Technology The Illinois Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Illinois Tech and IIT, is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Tracing its history to 1890, the present name was adopted upon the m ...
. He suggested that Mies become involved with the design of the project. Mies was one of the most prominent architects of the time, but had never designed a high-rise structure. The project was named the "Promontory Apartments" because the proposed site overlooked Promontory Point in Burnham Park.


Design

After a general floor plan had been suggested, Mies developed a design of the building. He suggested a steel curtain wall that would be encased in brick on two sides. On the other two sides, east and west, he recommended floor-to-ceiling windows between I-beam mullions running the height of the building. Greenwald rejected this design, although he would later approve a similar design for his
860–880 Lake Shore Drive Apartments 860–880 Lake Shore Drive is a twin pair of glass-and-steel apartment towers on N. Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Construction began in 1949 and the project was completed in 1951. ...
. Mies also submitted a second design with an exposed concrete structure on all sides. This design would have low brick spandrel walls and full-width windows on two sides. Greenwald approved this second design. Greenwald struggled to convince banks to lend him money for the project. Greenwald and Mies' concept to develop an apartment scheme with so much glass proved controversial. Finally, in Spring 1947, Greenwald was able to secure a mortgage with the Trust Company of Chicago. The Peter Hamlin Construction Company was selected as the general contractor and construction began that Fall. The project began to attract interest when a model of the final version and a drawing of the steel-and-glass version were put on display for a Mies showcase at the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
. By the time the building was completed in 1949, all of the apartment units were sold. The Promontory Apartments were the first Mies building to have an exposed skeleton structure, an architectural theme that would dominate the latter portion of his career. Mies first proposed an external skeleton for an office building in 1923, but abandoned the concept until the late 1930s. His Mechanical Engineering Research building on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus featured an exposed concrete frame, but it was infilled with brick spandrel walls and windows and was not constructed in accordance with Mies' design. However, the building design is clearly a precursor to the Promontory Apartments. The Promontory Apartments were an important point in Mies' career. The building was well received in the United States and abroad and further cemented his reputation as a leading architect. The building's success would inspire Greenwald to commission Mies to design more than ten additional apartment projects. Mies was also encouraged by the reception and abandoned the classic elements such as the traditional floor plan for more experimental steel-and-glass design. The building and its display at the Museum of Modern Art encouraged Phyllis and Samuel Bronfman to commission Mies to design the
Seagram Building The Seagram Building is a skyscraper at 375 Park Avenue, between 52nd Street (Manhattan), 52nd and 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe along with P ...
in
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. In the mid-1960s, the Promontory Apartments Trust contacted Mies about alterations to the ground floor as well as through-wall air conditioners for the spandrel walls. Mies offered his input on these changes, which were put into place c. 1965–66. On November 21, 1996, the building was recognized by the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
with a listing on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.


Architecture

The Promontory Apartments are adjacent to the 1927
Flamingo-on-the-Lake Apartments The Flamingo-on-the-Lake Apartments, also known as the Flamingo Apartment Hotel, is a building designed by architect William C. Reichert and located at 5500-5520 S. Shore Drive along Lake Michigan in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illi ...
, also listed on the National Register. The building is designed as a Double T with the horizontal cross-bars joined; the stems of the T's form wings to the rear. Each T is its own building with separate addresses, elevators, and stairways. This tripartite design would feature prominently in future Mies designs. Starting with the third story, each floor of each T has three apartments which share a small elevator lobby in the center. The first floor has a common lobby and two apartments at a mezzanine level; thus, there are 122 units. The building has a basement with maintenance facilities, storage, laundry, and mechanical equipment rooms.


References


External links


Guide to the Mies van der Rohe Chicago Promontory Apartment Building Blueprints 1947
{{DEFAULTSORT:Promontory Apartments Chicago Landmarks Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago International style architecture in Illinois Residential buildings completed in 1949 Residential skyscrapers in Chicago Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings Housing cooperatives in the United States 1949 establishments in Illinois Cooperatives based in Illinois