400 East Randolph
It was developed by Jerrold Wexler, who saw the legally protected lakefront as an ideal location for high income young office workers without children. In 1957, he encountered legal difficulties acquiring a lakefront site. Mayor Richard J. Daley, worried about a tendency of upscale Chicagoans to move to the suburbs, supported the project and told the planning department to make it work. The lakeshore was legally protected, but the city secured the needed legislation and resolved disputes with the Illinois Central Railroad, which originally owned the property. The city extended Randolph Drive into the lake area making the project possible. It was completed in 1962, as one of the largest apartment buildings in the world outside of New York City, with over 900 one-and two-bedroom units. It offered indoor parking, a pool and exercise facilities, a restaurant and a small grocery store. When it opened in 1962 The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper reported that Loop-area apartment towers such as Marina City, a few blocks away, "caught the city by surprise." A near-Loop location permitted one to walk to work at hundreds of office buildings, as well as walking access to the major department stores and theaters. In 1963 it became the first major apartment building in this part of downtown Chicago and started the trend of downtown living so that it is now surrounded by other upscale apartment and condominium buildings. However, after the 1970s, the amenities tended to leave the Loop and moved to North Michigan Avenue. It was converted from apartments to condominiums in 1973. Today the building houses a few businesses including the Lakefront Children's Academy.
Position in Chicago's skyline
400 East Randolph (Outer Drive East) appears in front of Olympia Centre, 900 North Michigan, John Hancock Center, and Water Tower Place in the 2006 photo below.
![The skyline of a city with many large skyscrapers; in the foreground is a green park and a lake with many sailboats moored on it. Over 30 of the skyscrapers and some park features are labeled.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/95/Chicago_skyline_labelled.jpg/1280px-Chicago_skyline_labelled.jpg)
References
- ^ Joseph P. Schwieterman; Dana M. Caspall (2006). The Politics of Place: A History of Zoning in Chicago. Lake Claremont Press. p. 82.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/de/Downtown_Chicago_Illinois_Nov05_img_2574.jpg/220px-Downtown_Chicago_Illinois_Nov05_img_2574.jpg)