Chicago Bath House Chicago

     This Bath house is located at 1914 West Division Street Chicago.   It originally  opened in 1906.  It is a 2 story building.  The first floor contains the banya hot room, steam rooms, cold plunges, the restaurant and bar area.  The second room is for private services including massage therapy and sleeping rooms

Chicago Bath House

     The exterior of the building features  primarily Chicago common brick with plain features.  The roof is flat it consists of multiple layers of bitumen alternating with reinforced fabric.  The roof edge is defined by brick parapet wall capped with clay tiles or stone.   A skylight provides natural light.

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     The building style is utilitarian brick commercial style. The architects are not definitely known.  They may be Levy and Klein.

     The bath house was originally known as the Kaplan Russian Turkish Bath .  The owners were Jewish. The facility served Eastern European Immigrants. It became a cultural hub in the neighborhood.

     The Colluci family owned and operated the facility for multiple decades. They  maintained the traditional atmosphere of the facility.

    The Bath House is one of oldest continuously operating bath houses in Chicago .  It served as a secluded off the book locations for politicians and mobsters to conduct their business.

Noel State Bank Building

     The Noel State Bank building is located at 1601 North Milwaukee Ave Chicago. The bank was founded in 1905 by Joseph R. Noel.   The bank building was built in 1919 -1921. The builder was Gardner  C. Coughlin. He was also the architect for the building. Construction costs were $400,000.

     The building style was neoclassical. Building exterior is clad entirely in ornamental terra cotta. There are large windows divided by engaged pilasters topped with Corinthian Capitals.

     More recently the building was used by Walgreens Drug Store and Barnes and Noble Book Store

Polish National Alliance Headquarters

     The Old Headquarters of the Polish National Alliance was located on 1514-1520 West Division Street ,Chicago.   The building was designed by Joseph Slopkowski.  It is a 2 story building.

Historic Plaque

     There is a raised basement.  The exterior on two sides was clad in Ashley limestone wth carved limestone detailing.  2 other sides are clad with unornamented brick.  There is a flat roof.

Old Headquarters of the Polish National Alliance

    The building was built by the Polish National Alliance.  The building style was art deco.  Construction costs were $200,000

     The Polish National Alliance occupied the building from 1938 to 1976.  It is currently being used Studio Gang Architects

Laramie State Bank Chicago

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Laramie State Bank Chicago

Laramie State Bank Chicago

This building was constructed in 1905.  It was part of the Albert Hollander moving and storage business. The architect was George R. Kingsley.  The building was 5 stories. The facade of the building was terra cotta and brick. It once functioned as a furniture storage facility.

In 2016, the building was completely renovated. along with the Northwest Tower (adjacent to the Hollander Building).  It was converted to a social stay hotel  called the Hollander.   There were 12 private rooms and 8 shared suites.

     On the ground floor of the Hollander was LeLobo a high end fragrance boutique.