Frequently Asked Questions
Chicago's South Side lakefront runs from Hyde Park past Jackson Park and on toward the South Chicago line, and the community areas along it rent very differently from one another. These four are worth comparing:
South Shore
Oglesby Towers sits in South Shore, the community area that carries the southern trailhead of the Chicago Lakefront Trail at 71st Street and South Shore Drive. The landmark South Shore Cultural Center anchors the neighborhood with a nine-hole golf course, a bathing beach, a solarium and the Paul Robeson Theater, and its six-acre nature sanctuary is one of more than 50 protected natural areas in the Chicago park system. Groceries, restaurants and the Bryn Mawr Metra stop all cluster along 71st Street.
Jackson Park Highlands
This Chicago Landmark historic district lies just west of Oglesby Towers, bounded by 67th Street, 71st Street, Cregier Avenue and Jeffery Boulevard. Laid out in 1905 as a collection of architect-designed homes overlooking Jackson Park, it was designated a landmark in 1989. Rental inventory inside the district is limited, but it gives the surrounding blocks unusually deep tree cover and quiet side streets.
Hyde Park
Two miles northwest, Hyde Park holds the University of Chicago campus, UChicago Medicine and the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry. Promontory Point juts into Lake Michigan at 55th Street, with the 57th Street and 63rd Street beaches along the same stretch of shoreline. Retail concentrates on 53rd and 55th streets, and the Metra Electric main line stops at 55th, 56th and 57th.
Woodlawn
Located along the western edge of Jackson Park, Woodlawn now sits alongside the Obama Presidential Center, which opened to the public in June 2026 at 6001 South Stony Island Avenue. The Metra Electric 63rd Street station serves the area, while Jackson Park's lagoons and Osaka Garden provide shared green space between Woodlawn, Hyde Park, and South Shore.
Life on this stretch of the South Side is organized around Lake Michigan and the 551-acre park next door. Four things stand out for renters here:
Jackson Park and the Lakefront Trail
Jackson Park totals 551 acres and was laid out in 1871 by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux before being remade for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. It holds three harbors, a golf course, a driving range, lagoons and the Osaka Garden. The 18.5-mile pedestrian Lakefront Trail begins at 71st Street and South Shore Drive and runs north to Ardmore Avenue, putting its southern end a short walk from Oglesby Towers.
A Presidential Center Inside the Park
The Obama Presidential Center opened to the public on June 19, 2026, on a five-building campus in Jackson Park. It includes a 225-foot museum tower, a forum building, an athletic building and a Chicago Public Library branch. Most of the campus is free to enter, including the top floor of the tower.
Nine Straight Years as America's Best Big City
Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked Chicago first on the Best Big Cities in the U.S. list in 2025. That was the ninth consecutive year the city took the top spot, the longest streak in the award program's 30-plus-year history, from more than 750,000 votes cast.
A Rail Commute That Starts on 71st Street
Metra Electric's South Chicago branch stops at Bryn Mawr station in the median of 71st Street at Jeffery Boulevard, 9.66 rail miles from Millennium Station downtown. CTA route 6, the Jackson Park Express, posts a stop at 67th Street and Oglesby, at the building's own corner, then continues along South Shore Drive.
From Oglesby Towers, the museums, beaches, gardens and golf of the South Side lakefront all sit within a few miles. Residents regularly head to:
- Obama Presidential Center
- Griffin Museum of Science and Industry
- South Shore Cultural Center
- Stony Island Arts Bank
- DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
- Jackson Park Golf Course
- Osaka Garden in Jackson Park
- 63rd Street Beach
- Rainbow Beach Park
- Jackson Park Harbor
- Promontory Point
- Chicago Lakefront Trail
The Stony Island Arts Bank is the nearest of the group, under a mile west of the building at 6760 South Stony Island Avenue.
Commuters at Oglesby Towers reach the Hyde Park campuses in about two miles and Millennium Station in under ten rail miles, boarding Metra Electric or CTA route 6 within a few blocks of the door. Major area employers include:
- University of Chicago (Hyde Park)
- UChicago Medicine (Hyde Park)
- Jackson Park Hospital and Medical Center (South Shore)
- Griffin Museum of Science and Industry (Hyde Park)
- Obama Presidential Center (Jackson Park)
- Chicago Public Schools
- City of Chicago
- Cook County
- U.S. federal government (Chicago area)
- Advocate Health Care (Illinois hospital network)
- Northwestern Medicine (Streeterville)
- Rush University Medical Center (Illinois Medical District)
- United Airlines (headquarters at Willis Tower in the Loop)
- Amazon (Chicago area)
- Chicago Park District (headquarters on South Western Avenue)
The federal government, Chicago Public Schools and the city of Chicago top Crain's 2026 ranking of the region's largest employers, and a single Metra Electric line connects Oglesby Towers to all three.
Amenities at Oglesby Towers are built around what a 25-story lakefront tower can offer that a low-rise cannot, then backed by services that run around the clock:
Lake and Skyline Views From 25 Floors
The building rises 25 stories above 67th Street, and oversized wall-to-wall windows carry Lake Michigan on one side and the Chicago skyline on the other. Upper floors take in Jackson Park Harbor and the green edge of Jackson Park in the middle distance. Select apartments add a private balcony that puts the view outside the glass.
Heated Garage Parking with Assigned Spaces
Assigned spaces are available in the heated, controlled-access community garage, which earns its keep on a lakefront block in January. Passenger and freight elevators serve all 25 floors, and a bicycle storage room plus additional storage lockers handle the overflow. An evening door attendant and an electronic entry system manage the lobby.
Around-the-Clock Fitness, Laundry and Package Pickup
The fitness center and the Wi-Fi equipped laundry center both keep hours around the clock, so a workout or a load of laundry fits before an early Metra ride. Parcel lockers let residents retrieve deliveries at any hour, seven days a week. A business center with Wi-Fi and a community room round out the shared spaces at Oglesby Towers.
Pet-Friendly Living Steps from the Lakefront
Up to two pets are welcome per apartment home, subject to a one-time pet fee, monthly pet rent, a 65-pound weight limit and some breed restrictions. The lakefront and the southern end of the Lakefront Trail both sit within a short walk. The building is entirely smoke-free, which keeps shared corridors and elevators clean for every resident.
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