GoldCoast-11

By Ashland Thomas

Piece description from the artist

The Playboy Mansion | Gold Coast | Chicago

When you say Playboy Mansion, most people think of the famed Grotto and grounds at Hugh Hefner's LA mansion, but Playboy, and its founder, are from Chicago. The original 30,000 sq ft classical brick and limestone abode was built in 1899 and acquired by Hefner in 1959. The OG Playboy Club was in the nearby Streeterville neighborhood, and eventually Playboy HQ took over the Palmolive Building (see photo in my collection) at the edge of Michigan Avenue and the Gold Coast. The original Grotto was in the basement and the pool was surrounded by glass walls. Today, the mansion has been divided into multiple multi-million dollar luxury condos, but the house is protected under landmark status.

The Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago was originally named the Astor Street District and emerged out of the shadows of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Potter Palmer, a major influencer of the elite and one of the wealthiest businessmen in the city, was the first to leave behind the ashes surrounding the Prairie Avenue District and create a desirable plot of land in swampland at the northern edge of the city. The wealthiest of Chicago followed suit and quickly developed the area into one of the most desirable addresses in America. The Gold Coast was the second wealthiest neighborhood in the United States behind Manhattan's Upper East Side until the 1990's. It is currently the seventh wealthiest neighborhood in the country and boasts iconic wealth symbols such as the original Playboy Mansion, The Drake Hotel, Astor Street Row Houses, gaslight street lamps, designer boutiques, and iconic homes and landscapes from some of the country's top architects.