Explore the real-world places that appear in The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Westing House, Sunset Towers Apartment Building, Lake Shore Drive, Lincoln Park, Madame Sun's Chinese Restaurant and 10 more.
Lake Michigan Shore — The mysterious mansion at the novel's heart
The abandoned Westing House looms over the entire novel. Sam Westing, the eccentric millionaire, is found dead in this gothic mansion. The house becomes the stage for the Westing Game itself—sixteen potential heirs are paired off and given cryptic clues to solve the mystery of Westing's death and win his fortune. Turtle Peach and her mother, Angela, live in the apartment building next to it, and Turtle is obsessed with exploring and solving its mysteries.
The fictional Westing House was inspired by actual Victorian mansions along Chicago's North Shore. Many wealthy industrialists built grand estates overlooking Lake Michigan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, though the specific house is a creation of Raskin's imagination.
While the Westing House itself is fictional, the lakefront area near Lincoln Park features many preserved Victorian and Gilded Age mansions that reflect the grandeur Raskin described. The Lake Michigan shoreline remains a picturesque and wealthy neighborhood.
Facing Westing House — Home to sixteen game players
Sunset Towers is the residential apartment building where most of the main characters live, positioned directly across from the Westing House. Turtle Peach lives here with her mother Angela and her sister Sydelle. Other residents include Flora Baumbach, Denton Deere, Grace Wexler, and others. The building becomes the gathering place where clues are deciphered, alliances form and break, and the truth about the Westing Game slowly emerges through tense conversations in hallways and apartments.
Sunset Towers represents the kind of mid-rise apartment building that became common in Chicago's wealthy North Shore neighborhoods during the early-to-mid 20th century, offering apartment living to professional and business-class residents.
The actual location near Lake Shore Drive in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood continues to feature residential buildings serving the affluent North Shore community.
Chicago Lakefront — The bustling thoroughfare connecting the city
Lake Shore Drive is the major road that runs along Lake Michigan, connecting the North Shore neighborhoods where most of the action takes place. Characters drive along this route between apartments, businesses, and various locations. The drive represents connection and motion in the novel, as different characters navigate the city to pursue the secrets of the Westing Game.
Lake Shore Drive was developed in the late 19th century and became one of Chicago's most important thoroughfares, showcasing the city's lakefront to residents and visitors. It was expanded and modernized through the 20th century.
Lake Shore Drive remains one of Chicago's most iconic roads, running for 18 miles along Lake Michigan's shoreline. It provides access to numerous parks, museums, and beaches, and remains a vital transportation artery.
Visit: Lake Shore Drive Scenic Drive (landmark)
2001 N. Clark Street — Chicago's massive urban park
Lincoln Park is referenced as part of the Chicago geography that surrounds Sunset Towers and the Westing House. The park represents the open, public space of the city, contrasting with the secretive, enclosed world of the Westing Game and the mysteries within Sunset Towers and the abandoned mansion.
Lincoln Park was established in 1860 and has grown to be one of Chicago's largest public parks at 1,200 acres. It includes museums, theaters, beaches, and recreational facilities, and has been a defining feature of the city's North Shore since the 19th century.
Lincoln Park remains a premier urban park and recreational destination, home to the Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago History Museum, Steppenwolf Theatre, and beautiful lagoons, beaches, and gardens. It attracts millions of visitors annually.
Visit: Lincoln Park (park)
Near Sunset Towers — Where characters gather and plot
Madame Sun's is the Chinese restaurant frequented by many of the Westing Game players. Characters dine here, discuss clues, and make plans. The restaurant serves as a semi-public space where alliances form, secrets are shared, and the mystery deepens. It's a place of both hospitality and intrigue, where multiple conversations about the Westing Game unfold.
Chinese restaurants became increasingly common in Chicago during the mid-20th century, particularly in the commercial areas near residential neighborhoods, serving both immigrant communities and broader city residents.
The area near Sunset Towers contains numerous restaurants and dining establishments serving the residential community. While Madame Sun's specific establishment is fictional, Chicago's dining scene continues to feature excellent Chinese restaurants.
Medical Center — Where Angela Wexler works as a nurse
North Shore Hospital is where Angela Wexler, Grace's daughter, works as a nurse. Angela is a central character caught between her mother's domineering expectations and her own desires. The hospital setting anchors her character, providing a contrast to her mother's shallow concerns with appearance and marriage prospects. Angela's work as a nurse reflects her compassion and purpose.
Chicago's North Shore has hosted multiple major medical facilities since the late 19th century, serving the wealthy and growing residential communities. Major teaching hospitals and medical centers have been integral to the North Shore's development.
The North Shore continues to be home to world-class medical facilities including Northwestern Medicine and other major hospitals and health centers.
Visit: Northwestern Medicine (historic site)
Sunset Towers, Penthouse — Where Turtle plots and investigates
Turtle Peach's apartment in Sunset Towers is her sanctuary and headquarters for solving the Westing Game. Brilliant, fierce, and unconventional, Turtle—nicknamed for her Shell's Turtle Wax—uses her apartment as a base for investigation. She analyzes clues, confronts her sister Sydelle, defies her mother, and ultimately plays a crucial role in uncovering the truth. The penthouse setting reflects her elevated intellect and her above-the-fray perspective.
Penthouse apartments in mid-rise residential buildings became status symbols in mid-20th century Chicago, offering panoramic views and exclusive positioning above the ordinary street level.
High-rise and mid-rise residential buildings in Chicago continue to feature penthouse units as premium living spaces.
Near Sunset Towers — Dressmaking and alterations
Flora Baumbach, the elderly widowed dressmaker, runs a small shop where she alters and creates clothing. Her skill with fabric and design reveals her artistry, while her participation in the Westing Game reflects her own longing for connection and family. Flora serves the neighborhood's residents, including the vain and self-centered Grace Wexler, who constantly needs her dresses altered.
Dressmaking shops and small tailoring businesses were common in residential neighborhoods throughout Chicago, particularly catering to the wives and daughters of wealthy North Shore residents.
While individual dressmaking shops have declined, the commercial areas near residential neighborhoods continue to feature tailor and alterations services.
Nearby — Source of intrigue and distrust among players
Mr. Hoo's restaurant or business is referenced as a site of conflict and suspicion. The Hoo family—Mr. Hoo, his son Theo, and their connections—become entangled in the Westing Game complications. Mr. Hoo's business dealings and the family's involvement in the game's mysteries add another layer of intrigue to the narrative.
Family-run Asian businesses became increasingly established in Chicago's North Shore neighborhoods during the mid-20th century, serving both their communities and the broader residential and commercial areas.
The North Shore continues to have diverse family-run restaurants and businesses serving the community.
Sunset Towers — The domain of vanity and pretense
Grace Wexler's opulent bedroom in Sunset Towers is the heart of her shallow, materialistic world. Obsessed with appearance, status, and marrying off her daughter Angela to a doctor, Grace spends her time in front of mirrors, applying makeup, and plotting social advancement. Her bedroom reflects her character—vain, controlling, and disconnected from genuine human connection. Angela and Turtle witness her manipulation and self-absorption.
Luxurious master bedrooms in mid-rise apartment buildings reflected the aspirations and lifestyles of wealthy Chicago residents during the mid-20th century.
Sunset Towers apartments continue to feature well-appointed residential spaces.
Sunset Towers — The pharmacist's residence
Shin Hoo, the immigrant pharmacist, and his son Theo live in Sunset Towers. Shin Hoo carries secrets and fears—including anxiety about his legal status and his son's disability. His participation in the Westing Game intersects with his protective concern for Theo. The apartment represents the private world of an immigrant family navigating American society and unexpected fortune.
Immigrant professionals, including pharmacists, became established members of Chicago's North Shore communities during the mid-20th century.
Sunset Towers continues to house residents from diverse backgrounds and professions.
Sunset Towers or Nearby — Where mental games are played
A chess club or game room represents the intellectual warfare at the heart of the Westing Game itself. The novel is structured as a puzzle and game, and characters approach solving Westing's death as both serious investigation and competitive game. The strategic thinking and pattern recognition required for chess mirror the logical deduction needed to solve the mystery.
Chicago has a long tradition of chess clubs and intellectual recreation, reflecting the city's cultural institutions and educated populations.
Chess clubs and game rooms continue in Chicago, including famous establishments like the Chess Club of Chicago.
Visit: Chess Club of Chicago (landmark)
Along the Lakefront — Where characters contemplate
Lake Michigan's shoreline provides a contemplative setting where characters reflect on the mysteries and secrets surrounding the Westing Game. The vast expanse of water and open sky contrast with the closed, puzzle-like world of Sunset Towers and the Westing House, offering moments of perspective and clarity.
Lake Michigan's beaches have been central to Chicago's identity and recreation since the city's founding, serving as public gathering spaces and peaceful retreats from urban life.
Lake Michigan's beaches remain popular destinations for swimming, sunbathing, walking, and recreation. Multiple beaches line the North Shore, easily accessible from residential areas.
Visit: Lake Michigan Beaches (park)
Formal venue or Location — Where Sam Westing's death is announced
The discovery and announcement of Sam Westing's death sets the entire game in motion. The formal notification of his death and the subsequent gathering of potential heirs and game players originates from the Westing House or its associated legal and funeral arrangements. This event is the catalyst for all the intrigue, investigation, and revelation that follows.
Funeral services and legal proceedings surrounding wealthy estates have been integral to Chicago's legal and social systems since its establishment as a major city.
Funeral homes and legal establishments continue to serve Chicago residents.
Evanston — Academic and Professional Hub
Northwestern University's presence in nearby Evanston represents the academic and professional world that shapes the characters' aspirations and backgrounds. The university's location on the North Shore reflects the educated, accomplished community where many Westing Game players live and work. It symbolizes ambition, knowledge, and the pursuit of success.
Northwestern University was founded in 1851 and has grown to become one of the nation's premier educational institutions, deeply integrated into the North Shore's identity and character.
Northwestern University remains one of the top-ranked universities in America, with a beautiful lakefront campus in Evanston that attracts students and visitors globally.
Visit: Northwestern University (landmark)
More by Ellen Raskin: All Ellen Raskin books
More novels set in Chicago: Browse all Chicago books on Map A Story
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