The Palmolive Building, formerly the Playboy Building, is a 37-story

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

building at 919 N. Michigan Avenue in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois.

History

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Moder ...

, the Palmolive Building was completed in 1929 as the home of the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company.

Playboy Enterprises PLBY Group, Inc. is an American global media and lifestyle company founded by Hugh Hefner as Playboy Enterprises, Inc. to oversee the ''Playboy'' magazine and related assets. Its headquarters are in Los Angeles, California. The company is focus ...

purchased the leasehold in 1965 and the structure was renamed the Playboy Building. It was home to the editorial and business offices of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine until 1989, when Playboy moved its offices to

680 N Lake Shore Drive 680 N Lake Shore Drive ( a.k.a. Lake Shore Place) is a 29-story building located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the American Furniture Mart, was completed in 1926. The two halves were designed separatel ...

. Playboy had sold the leasehold in 1980 and signed a 10-year lease that expired in 1990. The new leaseholder renamed the building 919 North Michigan Avenue. During the time that Playboy was in the building, the word P-L-A-Y-B-O-Y was spelled out in illuminated letters on the north and south roofline. The building was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...

in 2000, and it was added to the federal

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2003. In 2001, the building was sold to developer Draper and Kramer who, with Booth Hansen Architects, converted it to residential use, with the first two floors dedicated to upscale office and retail space. High-end condos make up the rest of the building. The new owners restored the building's name to the Palmolive Building. The business address remains 919 North Michigan Avenue; however, the residential address is 159 East Walton Place. Notable residents of the building include

Vince Vaughn Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor. He is known for starring as a leading man in numerous comedy films during the late 1990s and 2000s. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award ...

, who bought a triplex penthouse encompassing the 35th, 36th and 37th floors for $12 million. In February 2013, Vaughn offered the penthouse for sale as a pocket listing for $24.9 million. However, after multiple price cuts he chose in May 2016 to divide the unit in two, offering one for $8.5 million, and the other smaller unit for $4.2 million.

Lindbergh Beacon

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

named for the aviator

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

was added to the building in 1930. It rotated a full 360 degrees and was intended to help guide airplanes safely to

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport is a major commercial airport on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the city's Chicago Loop, Loop business district, and divided between the city's C ...

. The beacon beamed for several decades, and ceased operation in 1981 following complaints from residents of nearby buildings. During the Palmolive Building's conversion to condominiums in the late 2000s, the beacon was modified to rotate back and forth, always pointing towards the waterfront, so as to avoid shining light into other buildings. Subsequently, the historic beacon resumed operation.

Notes

References

External links

Palmolive Building Landmark Residences

Palmolive Building History on Chicagology
{{Chicago Landmark skyscrapers Art Deco architecture in Illinois Art Deco skyscrapers Commercial buildings completed in 1929 Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Magazine headquarters Mass media company headquarters in the United States Skyscraper office buildings in Chicago Playboy Residential condominiums in Chicago Residential skyscrapers in Chicago Projects by Holabird & Root Chicago Landmarks Streeterville, Chicago 1929 establishments in Illinois

History

Lindbergh Beacon

See also

Notes

References

External links