The Lexington Hotel was a ten-story hotel in

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

at 2135 S. Michigan Avenue.

History

The Lexington Hotel was built in 1892 (or 1891) for attendees of the Columbian Exposition. The hotel is notable for being

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

's primary residence from July 1928 until his arrest in 1931. After the

Saint Valentine's Day Massacre The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, ...

, some commenters called the hotel "Capone's Castle." It was later renamed "The New Michigan Hotel" and functioned as a brothel with 400 rooms. The hotel closed in 1980. On April 21, 1986, locked vaults found in the hotel were the subject of a live television program called ''

The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults ''The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults'' is a two-hour live American television special that was broadcast in syndication on April 21, 1986, and hosted by Geraldo Rivera. It centered on the live opening of a walled-off underground room in the Lexingt ...

'', which received 30 million viewers. The building was demolished in 1995, despite its presence on the list of

Chicago landmarks 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 ...

and the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The location where the hotel once stood is currently the site of a 296 unit residential high rise called "The Lex" that was completed in 2012.

References

Demolished hotels in Chicago Buildings and structures demolished in 1995 {{Chicago-stub