Located east from the Lakefront to Michigan Avenue and south from Illinois Street to eastbound lake Shore Drive.

In 1886, the land east of Michigan Avenue and north of the Chicago River was created when Captain George Wellington Streeter, an adventurer who had outfitted a boat for gunrunning in the south, ran aground in Lake Michigan on a sand bar near what is now Superior Street. He stayed on the boat where it was grounded and convinced city contractors to dump hard fill in the section surrounding his boat. Later he laid claim to the 186 acre tract created in this way and called it the "Free District of Lake Michigan", an independent territory. He sold lots and survived skirmishes with the police until 1918, when he was finally evicted.

Today, the housing in Streeterville is comprized primarily of high-rise condominiums. Streeterville also features many of the city's finest hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments. The Water Tower Place shopping mall, located on the Magnificent Mile section of North Michigan Avenue, is world renowned for its assortment of fine stores.