1500 N Lake Shore Drive Co-ops

Posted by Linda Shaughnessy on Monday, April 20th, 2020 at 8:21pm.

1500 N Lake Shore Drive

1500 N Lake Shore Drive is the only Chicago co-op designed by Rosario Candela, the master architect of the most coveted Manhattan co-ops

The Building

Standing 25 stories on the corner of Burton Place and the lakefront, 1500 N Lake Shore Drive houses 57 apartments on full and private floors, as well as several duplexes, with 11-room layouts spanning 6,000 square feet. True to Candela’s design aesthetic that featured terraced setbacks on high floors, 1500’s crown jewel was the 18- room penthouse, often referred to as “the bungalow,” with its own reflecting pool and gardens. However, the two maisonetttes with private entrances on street level, are equally significant considering that one was offered for sale in 2011 for $6.25 million. The exceptionally wide corner lot presented Candela the opportunity to include an on-site parking garage and porte-cochere, unique among vintage condo and co-op buildings.

The limestone and brick façade in the French Renaissance style sets the tone for the sumptuous lobby and common areas fitted with millwork and marble imported, along with tradesmen, from Italy. No expense was sparred from the $5 million cost for land and the building, to the team of architects and engineers who prepared, over a period of only 22 months, 850 descriptive drawings and 50,000 blue prints for residents who had the option to customize their own interiors, which always included a silver vault and a wood-burning fireplace. Sold before its completion in 1929, 1500 was immune to the bad economic climate of the day.

Who was Rosario Candela?

Rosario Candela was a master architect of luxury co-op apartment building planning and design. A Sicilian immigrant who graduated from Columbia Architecture School in 1915, his co-op buildings became the most coveted Manhattan addresses for the city’s wealthiest families. Replacing mansions along Fifth and Park Avenues, the luxury apartments exemplified the opulence and grandeur of the Gilded Age. John D Rockefeller’s 20,000 square foot triplex at 740 Park Avenue had 37 rooms with grand foyers the size of ballrooms and 960 Park Avenue was described as 12 mansions built one-on-top of each other. Candela’s portfolio of co-op buildings redefined luxury living in the 20s and remain prized possessions today.