Tippy-Topy
[Allerton House (1924) Murgatroyd & Ogden, architects; Fugard & Knapp associate architects /Images & Artwork:
designslinger]
In the 1920s a firm called the Allerton House Company built a series of buildings in New
York at Lexington & 57th Street, Madison & 55th, Madison & 38th and one near Grand Central that served as men's clubs with a hotel theme. Unlike most clubs with all those applications and interviews to gain entry, Allerton House accomodations were available to anyone with a college degree and a reservation.
[Allerton Hotel, 140 E. Huron Street @ Michigan Avenue, Chicago /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
The scheme was so successful that in 1922 the company decided to try their hand in
Chicago and picked the site of a former mansion on Michigan Avenue, a reminder of a time when the street was called Pine and lined with private homes. Michigan was just coming into its own as the street we know today, and the Allerton was credited with anchoring the northern end of the emerging, upscale retail district. By the time the building was being drawn up with some Venetian Renaissance-inspired details by New York architects Murgatroyd & Ogden in 1923, the city's zoning laws had changed and the Allerton was the first building in town to have prominent set-backs built into the structure as a result of the new building code and towered over the Avenue.
[Tip-Top-Tap, Allerton Hotel /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
Known to most Chicagoans and visitors strolling along the Magnificent Mile because of the
large illuminated sign at the top, the 1,000 room Allerton House became the 450 room Allerton Hotel after the company went bankrupt in the late 1930s. The Tip-Top-Tap nightclub opened on the top floor of the tower in the early 40s and offered patrons cocktails with a stunning city view until 1961. Although the once towering building is now dwarfed by its newer Michigan Avenue neighbors and the nightclub is long gone, because the landmarked sign is still there, people continue to come to the building looking to have a drink on tap at the tip of the top of the Allerton Hotel.
Posted by designslinger at 9/16/2010 2:04 AM 
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Michigan Avenue Murgatroyd and Ogden Fugard and Knapp hotels
Categories: Architecture, History, Preservation
Tags: Michigan Avenue Murgatroyd and Ogden Fugard and Knapp hotels
Hi there. Good blog revealing the secrets and tipsy toppy… thanks for sharing.
Jenelia
And thanks for the visit!