The Northwest Tower, later popularly known as the Coyote Building,[1] and Robey Hotel since 2017,[2] 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.[3][4]
| Northwest Tower | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Alternative names | Coyote Building, Robey Hotel |
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Architectural style | Art Deco |
| Address | 2018 W. North Avenue, at Damen Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue |
| Town or city | Wicker Park, Chicago, Illinois |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°54′38″N 87°40′42″W / 41.9106°N 87.6782°W |
| Current tenants | The Robey Chicago |
| Year(s) built | 1928–1929 |
| Renovated | 2015–2017 |
| Height | 203 feet (62 m) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Perkins, Chatten & Hammond |
| Other information | |
| Number of stores | 12 |
Overview
editThe Northwest Tower is one of the first skyscrapers in Chicago to have been constructed outside the downtown area.[5] The tower was built on the site of the Noel State Bank, near the Damen stop on the Chicago "L", at the intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee Avenues. Milwaukee Avenue runs northwest through Chicago’s grid of streets, creating intersections that often have a “flatiron” or wedge-shaped building on one corner, like this building.
It was originally marketed to attorneys, doctors, and other professionals.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]
Renovation as a hotel began in 2015 and ended in 2017 when it opened as the Robey Hotel, with its address at 2018 W. North Avenue and its neighborhood now called Wicker Park. Robey Street was an early name for Damen Avenue. The Grupo Habita did the design of the renovation and operates the hotel. The building received praise for its use of “layering” interior designs of rooms and restaurants from all the decades of the building’s history. The warehouse on the adjacent lot was renovated to include a swimming pool and gym.[2]
Hotel
editIn 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 street 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.[8]
Renovation
editFrom 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.[9][2]
References
edit- ^ Fowler, Brenda (March 24, 2002). "The Many Accents of Wicker Park". The New York Times. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c Kamin, Blair (February 1, 2017). "The Robey Hotel in Chicago". Architectural Record. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
- ^ Chase, Al (May 20, 1928). "Trio of imposing buildings for neighborhood centers". Chicago Tribune. p. B1.
- ^ Sinkevitch, Alice; et al. (2003). AIA Guide to Chicago. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 265. ISBN 978-0156029087.
- ^ a b Landmark Designation Report: Milwaukee Avenue District. Commission on Chicago Landmarks. May 3, 2007. 21.
- ^ Artner, Alan G. (September 9, 2005). "Call of the wild; Around the Coyote Fall Arts Festival 2005". Chicago Tribune. p. 12.
- ^ Gallun, Alby (March 3, 2010). "Bucktown's tallest building faces foreclosure". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
- ^ Hauser, Alisa (August 26, 2015). "New Wicker Park Boutique Hotel Will Include Second Restaurant Next to Pool". DNA Info. Archived from the original on January 5, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- ^ Messner, Matthew (23 January 2017). "A newly remodeled 1920s building adds to Chicago's growing list of boutique tower hotels". The Architect's Newspaper.
External links
edit- Northwest Tower Building/Coyote Building. ExploreChicago.org