680 N Lake Shore Drive
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680 N Lake Shore Drive (
Architecture
Construction of the American Furniture Mart was undertaken in two phases: the eastern section was completed in 1923, and the western portion (including the tower) in 1926. The eastern half is constructed with reinforced concrete, whereas the western half, as well as the tower, is steel. A 1959 newspaper story, based on reminiscences by the building's president, claimed the building included provisions for mooring airships,[2] but nothing about airships appears in the descriptions of the building when it was being planned or built.[3][4]
The building was converted by David L. Paul into condominium and office space between 1979-84. Paul hired Lohan Associates, Inc. to be one of two architects. The design concept was Paul's. It is now home to 415 condo units divided amongst the building's three separate condominium associations: the Tower, the Lake, and the South residences. There is also 420,000 sq ft (39,000 m2) of commercial office space, 65,000 sq ft (6,000 m2) of retail space, and seven levels of indoor parking.
History
During its early decades as the American Furniture Mart, the building's address was 666 North Lake Shore Drive. In 1984,
Later in 1988, a few months after the address change,
Another notable tenant was radio station
As of 2017[update], much of the building's office space is leased to medical tenants.[9] The commercial portion of the building was sold to TopMed Realty in 2017 for $109.5 million.[9]
References
- ^ Alice Sinkevitch and Laurie McGovern Petersen, The AIA Guide to Chicago, 3rd Edition (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2014), p.144
- ^ Fuller, Earnest (February 28, 1959). "Chicago's Famous Buildings (14th in a series)". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "Furniture Mart Dedicates Its New Building". Chicago Tribune. July 8, 1924.
- ^ "472 Foot Blue and Gold Tower for North Side". Chicago Tribune. February 8, 1925.
- ^ Ibata, David (1988-03-03). "Mart gets new name, address, outlook". Chicago Tribune. p. B4.
- ^ a b c Galloway, Paul (1988-03-25). "Tenants Curse Their Luck as Owners Vow to Change 'Marked' Building's Name". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Storch, Charles (1988-04-10). "Playboy, at 35, lining up new pad". Chicago Tribune. p. F2.
- ^ Hefner, Hugh. "Chicago and the bunnies. Building a global future in the Windy City". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ a b Ori, Ryan (2017-02-15). "Former Playboy HQ sells for $110 million". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved 2017-02-17.