Purple Hotel
Coordinates: 42 ° 0 ′ 44 " N , 87 ° 44 ′ 30" W.
The Purple Hotel , also known as the Hyatt House Hotel , was a hotel located at 4500 West Touhy Avenue in Lincolnwood , Illinois . It was built in 1960 and was the first Hyatt hotel in the Midwest . Known for its purple bricks, the building was Hyatt's premier hotel in Chicagoland until the 1970s . It had two restaurants and there was live music for entertainment. In 1983 Allen Dorfman , a Teamsters trustee believed to have ties to the US Mafia , was shot dead in the hotel parking lot. The hotel closed in 2007 after a series of changes of ownership. Although it was listed as a cultural and architectural monument on the National Register of Historic Places in July 2013 , it was demolished the following month.
history
The hotel opened as the Lincolnwood Hyatt House in 1960. The architects Hausner & Macsai designed the building in a modern style . The origin of the unusual purple-colored exterior facade is controversial: One of the owners stated that the bricks should be made dark blue and that the purple was a faulty production, but the architect said that his customers had chosen the purple bricks against his recommendation. The Hyatt House was the first Hyatt hotel in the Midwest and served as Hyatt's flagship in the Chicago metropolitan area until 1971, when Hyatt opened a hotel near O'Hare International Airport . The hotel's amenities included two fine dining restaurants, Tessy’s and TJ Peppercorn’s , an outdoor swimming pool and live performances by musicians including Perry Como , Roberta Flack and Barry Manilow .
The hotel gained national fame in 1983 for the murder of Allen Dorfman , executive director of the Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund with ties to the Chicago Outfit , when he was shot dead in the hotel's parking lot. Dorfman had recently been charged with a conspiracy to bribe a U.S. Senator and was most likely killed to prevent him from disclosing information to law enforcement in exchange for a lesser sentence as a star witness . The hotel also had a bad reputation in the 1980s for hosting swinger parties at which, according to statements in two corruption trials, drugs were also used. In the 1990s, the hotel, which was operated by Radisson and Ramada , changed hands until it was operated as the Purple Hotel from 2004.
Closure and demolition
The Purple Hotel was closed by order of the authorities in January 2007 for violations of health regulations. An inspection by the town hall revealed that there was mold in 208 of 225 rooms checked , the windows were unsafe, the roof was leaking and there were problems with the sprinkler system . After the closure, the administration of the village threatened with a demolition order, should no entrepreneur be found who would fundamentally renovate the building. A campaign to preserve the hotel began, and eventually, on July 31, 2013, the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its importance to local history and architecture .
A financial group from nearby Skokie acquired the property in 2011 with the intention of maintaining and renovating the hotel. This company then decided in favor of demolishing and converting the property into a retail property with mixed use. Before the demolition, the purple bricks were removed and distributed in a fundraising campaign for the Lincolnwood Public Library. The hotel was demolished on August 27, 2013, four weeks after it was listed as a memorial on the National Register.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e Developer Wants To Restore, Revive Lincolnwood's Purple Hotel (English) , CBS 2 Chicago . December 29, 2011. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved on September 14, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Hyatt House Hotel ( English ) In: National Register of Historic Places Program . National Park Service . Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ↑ a b Natalie Hayes: Purple Hotel set to begin demolition next week (English) . In: Chicago Sun-Times , August 21, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ^ Brian L. Cox: The Purple Hotel is nearly history (English) . In: Chicago Tribune , August 27, 2013. Retrieved September 15, 2013.
- ^ A b Andrew Schroedter: It's check-out time for a colorful hotel (English) . In: Chicago Tribune , May 3, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ↑ Dane Placko: Infamous Purple Hotel to become retail complex (English) , Fox 32 Chicago . October 8, 2012. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 25, 2013.
- ↑ Save the Purple Hotel ( English ) Retrieved on September 14, 2013.
- ↑ Louis Pukelis: North Capital Group to swap Purple Hotel bricks for books during Lincolnwood Fest 2013 (English) . In: Chicago Tribune , July 24, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
- ^ David Roeder: Purple Hotel fades to black: Wrecking ball tears through notorious landmark (English) . In: Chicago Sun-Times , August 27, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
