This massive hotel was once a Chicago landmark. Now, it’s slowly rotting from the inside out. With tales of rowdy parties, swanky guests and a criminal reputation, there’s a lot more behind this purple palace than meets the eye.
There’s no mistaking the striking form of the Purple Hotel, formally known as the Lincolnwood Hyatt House.
Flickr/Ken Fager
The facade was originally supposed to be blue, but the construction crew mistakenly received a shipment of purple bricks instead of blue.
Flickr/Ken Fager
In the 1960s and 1970s, the hotel was a stylish place to stay in town. High-profile guests like Barry Manilow, Roberta Flack, and Perry Como frequented the Chicago hotel.
Flickr/Ken Fager
In 1983, however, Teamster Allen Dorfman was gunned down in the parking lot with a .22 caliber pistol.
Flickr/Ken Fager
FBI wire tapes suggested that the Chicago mafia was likely behind the slaying, but the case remains unsolved.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfagerdotcom/5680683031/in/album-72157626632456354/
Later that year, wealthy businessman Oscar Gerber was murdered inside the hotel by a deranged employee.
Flickr/Ken Fager
The hotel’s reputation suffered greatly over the years, and before its closure in 2007 for health violations
Flickr/Ken Fager
Shockingly, 205 of the 293 rooms had tested positive for dangerous mold.
Flickr/Ken Fager
The hotel became an elegant ruin. Many of the original retro furnishings remained, but time took its toll on the stately hotel.
Flickr/Ken Fager
Still, it’s not hard to imagine the grandeur of the Purple Hotel in years past.
Flickr/Ken Fager
The Purple Hotel was demolished in 2013. If these walls could have talked, they’d have surely told some stories that would give goosebumps. Do you think places like these should be torn down or preserved for their historical value?
Flickr/Ken Fager
Flickr/Ken Fager
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kenfagerdotcom/5680683031/in/album-72157626632456354/
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