Northwest Tower

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Northwest Tower
Northwest Tower Chicago.JPG
Northwest Tower
Alternative namesCoyote Building
General information
Type Hotel
Architectural style Art Deco
Address North Avenue & Milwaukee Avenue
Town or city Wicker Park, Chicago, Illinois
Country United States
Coordinates 41°54′38″N87°40′42″W / 41.9106°N 87.6782°W / 41.9106; -87.6782
Current tenants The Robey Chicago
Year(s) built1928–1929
Renovated2015–2017
Height203 feet (62 m)
Design and construction
Architect(s) Perkins, Chatten & Hammond
Other information
Number of stores12

The Northwest Tower, popularly known as the Coyote Building, [1] is a 12-story Art Deco building at the corner of North Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. It was designed by Perkins, Chatten & Hammond and built between 1928 and 1929. [2] [3]

Contents

Overview

The Northwest Tower is one of the first skyscrapers in Chicago to have been constructed outside the downtown area. [4] The tower was built on the site of the Noel State Bank, near the Damen stop on the Chicago "L". It was originally marketed to attorneys, doctors, and other professionals. [4] In the 1980s, it became home to the Tower Coyote Gallery, reportedly named because artists thought the building resembled a howling coyote. Over the next two decades, the surrounding neighborhood held an annual arts festival called Around the Coyote. [5] In 2008, the Chicago Zoning Board approved plans to convert the building into a hotel, but financial difficulties prevented the building's owner from moving ahead with the project. [6]

Hotel

In 2012, the property was purchased by a venture backed by Don Wilson and AJ Capita with the intent to renovate the property into a boutique hotel. Hotel Robey, named after the prior name for Damen Avenue, offers 69 rooms and Cafe Robey serving French-American cuisine. The hotel is operated by Grupo Habita, a Mexico-based hotel group with 14 hotels in Mexico and one in New York. [7]

Renovation

From 2015 to 2017, Northwest Tower was renovated by the Chicago-based Antunovich Associates as the architect of record, design work by Brussels offices of Nicolas Schuybroek Architects, and interior work by Marc Merckx Interiors. [8]

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References

  1. Brenda Fowler. "The Many Accents of Wicker Park". New York Times. March 24, 2002. Retrieved on August 28, 2010.
  2. Al Chase. "Trio of imposing buildings for neighborhood centers". Chicago Tribune. May 20, 1928. B1.
  3. Alice Sinkevitch, et al. AIA Guide to Chicago. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003. 265.
  4. 1 2 Landmark Designation Report: Milwaukee Avenue District. Commission on Chicago Landmarks. May 3, 2007. 21.
  5. Alan G. Artner. "Call of the wild; Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival 2005". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 2005. 12.
  6. Alby Gallun. "Bucktown's tallest building faces foreclosure". Crain's Chicago Business. March 3, 2010. Retrieved on August 28, 2010.
  7. Alisa Hauser. "New Wicker Park Boutique Hotel Will Include Second Restaurant Next to Pool Archived 2016-01-05 at the Wayback Machine ". DNAinfo. August 26, 2015. Retrieved on December 30, 2015.
  8. Messner, Matthew (23 January 2017). "A newly remodeled 1920s building adds to Chicago's growing list of boutique tower hotels". The Architect's Newspaper .

41°54′38″N87°40′41″W / 41.91062°N 87.67816°W / 41.91062; -87.67816