The Warwick Allerton - Chicago (formerly Allerton Hotel and Warwick Allerton Hotel Chicago and Allerton Crowne Plaza Hotel) is a 25-story hotel skyscraper on the

Magnificent Mile The Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is an upscale section of Chicago's Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side. The district is located within downtown, and one block ...

in the Near North Side community area of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. It was the first building in the city to feature pronounced setbacks and towers resulting from the 1923 zoning law. 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, United States. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, archite ...

on May 29, 1998. When the Allerton Hotel first opened, it had fourteen floors of small apartment-style rooms for men and six similar floors for women, with a total of 1,000 rooms. The hotel also boasted social events, gold, sports leagues, a library, solarium, and an in-house magazine. An early resident was

Louis Skidmore Louis Skidmore (April 8, 1897 – September 27, 1962) was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal. Biography Louis Skidmore was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. H ...

, founder of the architectural firm

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is an American architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It was founded in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel A. Owings, Nathaniel Owings in Chicago, Illinois. In 1939, they were joined by engineer Jo ...

. In the 1940s and 1950s, the hotel housed a swanky lounge on its top floor, called the "Tip Top Tap". Although the lounge closed in 1961, the sign proclaiming its existence is still displayed on the building's exterior. By 1963, the room was home to a new restaurant, the Cloud Room, when Don McNeill moved his broadcast of ''

Don McNeill's Breakfast Club ''Don McNeill's Breakfast Club'' was a long-running morning variety show on NBC Blue Network/American Broadcasting Company, ABC radio (and briefly on television) originating in Chicago, Illinois. Hosted by Don McNeill (performer), Don McNeill, the ...

'' to the location. While the show was broadcast from the Allerton, McNeill's guests included regular

Fran Allison Frances Helen Allison (November 20, 1907June 13, 1989) was an American television and radio comedienne, personality, and singer. She is best known for her starring role on the weekday NBC-TV puppet show ''Kukla, Fran and Ollie'', which ran from ...

. After the Allerton Hotel was declared a Chicago landmark, it closed in August 1998 through May 1999 for a $40 million renovation. The firm of Eckenhoff Saunders Architects oversaw restoration work which restored the hotel's bygone grandeur and upgraded mechanical systems. When the hotel reopened as the Allerton Crowne Plaza Hotel, the twenty-third floor, which previously housed the Tip Top Tap and the Cloud Room, became the Renaissance Ballroom and a lounge opened on the second floor called Taps on Two featuring one of the Tip Top Tap's signature drinks, a

Moscow mule A Moscow mule is a cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, garnished with a slice or wedge of lime. The drink is a type of buck and is sometimes called a vodka buck. The Moscow mule is popularly served in a copper mug, which ...

. In November 2006, a partnership of Oxford Lodging and Perry Capital purchased the hotel from FelCor Lodging for $70 million. The new owners ended the affiliation with Crowne Plaza and on February 2, 2007, the property was re-christened ''The Allerton Hotel''. Shortly after the purchase, Oxford announced further renovations to the property. In March 2014, Warwick International Hotels, a New York-based hotel chain, purchased the Allerton and renamed it the "Warwick Allerton Hotel". Warwick acquired the Allerton from New York-based hedge fund manager Petra Capital Management LLC, which won a 2012-battle for control of the property in bankruptcy court. The new owners are planning renovations which may include reopening the Tip Top Tap on the hotel's 23rd floor.

References

External links

*
Warwick Allerton Hotel Chicago official website
{{Chicago Landmark skyscrapers Hotel buildings completed in 1924 Skyscraper hotels in Chicago 1924 establishments in Illinois