The Gold Coast neighborhood grew in the wake of the Great Chicago Fire . In 1882 , millionaire Potter Palmer moved to the area from the Prairie Avenue neighborhood on the city 's south side . He filled in a swampy area which later became Lake Shore Drive , and built the Palmer Mansion , a forty-two room castle-like structure designed by Henry Ives Cobb and Charles Sumner Frost . Other wealthy Chicagoans followed Potter into the neighborhood , which became one of the richest in Chicago
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Gold Coast Historic District (Chicago)