On a cold March evening about 1950, my dad was driving me downtown on Lakeshore Drive when he said “look! There it is!”
He was pointing the iconic Palmolive Beacon. Depending on how old you are and actually had three different names. When it was built in 1929 it was named the Lindbergh Beacon or Lindbergh light named for the aviator Charles Lindbergh was added to the building in 1930. It rotated a full 360 degrees and was initially intended to help guide airplanes safely to Midway Airport. Then a later, it was more commonly known as the Palmolive Beacon . In 1965 it was renamed the Playboy beacon and 919 N. Michigan was renamed the Playboy Building. when Playboy Enterprises purchased the leasehold of the building. It was home to the editorial and business offices of Playboy magazine from that time until 1989 when it was then renamed the 919 N. Michigan building.
Continue reading “Toothpaste in a jar and the story of Chicago’s Palmolive Beacon”
Chicago and Cook County Cemeteries 