I took the Chicago Architectural Foundation's tour of Aqua and Lakeshore East. The Aqua building is the most fascinating. It looks different in every photo I see.
The oldest buildings in Lakeshore East date back to mid-century. All of them revolve around nautical themes, although Aqua captures the spirit of water the best.
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| New East Side. View from Millennium Park. |
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| Lakeshore East is a neighborhood of the New East Side, in The Loop. The Loop is one of the 77 Community Areas of Chicago. |
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| This building echoes an earlier style of Art Deco. |
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| The New East Side has a concentration of highrises. |
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| Originally Lakeshore East didn't have green spaces beyond container plantings like this. |
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| The most interesting building in the neighborhood is Aqua. I like how it becomes a sculpture. |
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| Aqua on the right. |
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| The neighborhood is built on multiple levels. Staircase down to a surprise. |
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| Staircase. |
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| Surprise! A public park sits in the center of the neighborhood. |
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| The park is framed on all sides by buildings. Until the tour I didn't know the park was there. The development also features a large grocery store I didn't know is three or four blocks from my train stop to go home to the South Side. |
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| LAST LOOK. Aqua among the buildings. |
