Lakeshore East Neighborhood

Chicago's New East Side

GEMS World Academy Chicago is uniquely located in the city’s Lakeshore East neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. An independent school that sees the city as an extension of the classroom, GEMS is easily accessible to all of Chicagoland and beyond.

Lakeshore East is a new, expanding planned community in Chicago. Our campus is surrounded by some of the tallest residential and business buildings in Chicago, including towers where many of our students live, a beautiful tree-filled neighborhood park, extensive public transit to all corners of the city and suburbs, and proximity to such great Chicago institutions as the Art Institute, Chicago Children’s Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Architecture Center, the Civic Opera, the world-renowned Chicago Symphony, Pritzker Pavilion with the Grant Park Orchestra, and 30 universities within the Loop alone.

Our location in Lakeshore East is also steps from the Chicago River Walk, which offers architectural cruise boats, restaurants, and family entertainment. Navy Pier, which offers the Shakespeare Theatre, lake cruise boats, large Ferris wheel, entertainment, and restaurants, is a 15-minute walk from the school. Family-oriented Millennium Park and the “Magnificent Mile,” with many of the world’s most famous stores and five-star restaurants and hotels are minutes away. 

A Private School in the Heart of Downtown Chicago

Our location in downtown Chicago makes GEMS a popular choice for both local families who prefer to walk to school and for students commuting in from the far reaches of Chicagoland, with enclosed walkways to parking, Metra, and Chicago public transit stations, and even onward to Midway and O’Hare Airports.

Not only does being in Lakeshore East afford students superb learning opportunities through our unique Field Studies program, it enables us to offer extracurricular programs like Sailing via our partnership with the nearby Columbia Yacht Club, and more.