For as long as I can remember, I have had a strong affinity for the color purple. Over the years, I have owned everything from purple Chuck Taylors to a purple Honda Elite Scooter. I suppose it is only natural for me to be fascinated by a hotel called the “Purple Hotel” and located less than a mile from my home.

It was originally built as the Lincolnwood Hyatt House in 1960. It stood at the corner of Lincoln and Touhy in Lincolnwood, Illinois, a small suburb bordering Chicago on the north. Over the years, it has also been a Ramada and a Radisson, although it has always been known as the “purple hotel,” because of its unique purple brick facade. It officially became The Purple Hotel in 2004. Ironically, the purple bricks were a mistake. Hyatt ordered blue bricks, but purple bricks arrived instead. Not wanting to delay construction, Hyatt simply used the purple bricks. Thus a local legend was born.

Through the 70s, the purple hotel was a hot spot, hosting such entertainers as Perry Como and Barry Manilow. In 1983, reputed mobster Allen Dorfman was killed in the parking lot. Michael Jordan stayed there during his first training camp with the Chicago Bulls in 1984. Finally, unfortunately, it was slated for destruction in late 2007, although legal entanglements have delayed the wrecking ball.

While I worked at the local newspaper, we held many of our functions in the purple hotel’s Grand Ballroom. One year, (currently GT’s own) Louie Atsaves won our holiday party limbo contest there. (I came in 15th place, barely edging out our 73-year-old dispatch driver). Our softball teams mourned many losses in the sports bar (aptly named “The Pressbox”).

As more modern, more luxurious hotels were built in the Chicago area, the Purple Hotel started to become a bit of a dinosaur. However, its charm and familiar purple facade endeared it to all, long after its heyday. Once all of the legal wrinkles get ironed out, the very desirable location will probably become home to a retail-residential combo of some sort.

It’s too bad. I always hate to see unique-looking buildings destroyed. Also, I think there is room for a quality hotel outside of the downtown or airport areas. One last reason for my angst is obvious: Purple is very seldom used in architecture. Where else am I going to find a purple building, especially so close to home?

–John Wroblewski, Distribution Specialist