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.

     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.

    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

     The Laramie State Bank Building is located at 5200 W. Chicago Avenue Chicago. The bank was founded in.1924.  The existing building was completed in 1928 to 1929

     The building is 3 stories.  The style is Art Deco.  The facade is ornate poly chrome featuring motifs of industry and wealth. Included was squirrels, coins, and historic workers.

     The architects were Myer and Cook.

     The bank closed on August 16, 1930.  From 1936 -1946 FHA used the building for offices.   1946 to 1991 used by Citizen National Bank.  Bank seized by federal regulators in 1991.  1990’s –2012 used by various tenants including restaurant/deli, furniture store, and a banquet hall.  2012 Building foreclosed.  It has remained since

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.

     The Old Administration Building of Montgomery Wards was located at 618 W. Chicago Avenue, along the north branch of the Chicago River.  It was built around 1939.It is 8 stories.  It was built with reinforced concrete.  There is a sword and torch motif at the bases.  There are vertical piers that extend uninterrupted culminating in a parapet with motifs similar to the bases.

     The building was 400,000 square feet. It was designed by  Richard E. Schmidt and Hugh Garden.  A  4 story tower was added to the north east corner of the building in 1929.

     At the top of the Administration building was a 22.5 foot bronze  statue.  This was a replica of the statue that originally  was at the top of the old Montgomery Building on Michigan Avenue.  This statue was of the goddess Diana.  It is titled Spirit of Progress.

          In 2004, this building was converted to a luxury condominium.

 This is an historic hotel in Chicago. It was built in 1927 The architect was Jens J. Jensen.  The building style is Moorish Revivsl. The building exterior is red and cream brick. There are arched window on two levels. There is detailed terra cotta typical of Jensen work.. It is 10 stories. The upper levels contained 289 rooms originally designed as furnished kitchenette apartments      It was built at a cost of $1,650,000.   It was built byJ. Louis Guyon a French Canadian nightclub owner and  dance instructor.     The first floor included commercial space and the hotel’s lobby. Two ballrooms were located on the second floor. Guyon resided in the south penthouse.     Guyon mounted 2 AM radio towers to broadcast his radio station, WGES.  One of the second floor   ballrooms was used as the station’s studio. Control of the station was transferred to Harry and Thomas Guyon in mid 1930’s..  The station left the building in in 1942.      The hotel went into receivership during the depression. In 1939 it was sold for $425,000. In 1942, it wss sold to Jack Haller and George London      In 1985, the Guyon was sold to the non for profit Bethnal  New Life. They renovated the building and converted it to affordable housing. The housing project ultimately failed when Bethel New Life ran out of money.      The building currently is vacant..  It has changed possession over six times sinceb1995.Due to multiple building code violations, it is in city demolition court.  Ownership list originally J. Louis Guyen 1985 1990 Bethel Life New Life Mid 1990s Chicago Equity Funds As of2026, owner is Patrick O’Flaherty

This building. was constructed in 1935.The building style is Spanish Renaissance Revival.  It was built for the Central West Wash Company to serve as a laundry facility       The building is two stories. The building exterior is red brick with limestone trim. There is a Spanish Gable Parapet.  There is a red terra cotta tile bonnet roof.  There is a tapered red brick smoke stack.  There is a 2 story limestone trim  which surrounds the main entrance bay.There are Roman arched  window bays on the second floor.  The architect may be either J.L. McConnell or A.G. Lund.      The building is currently used for apartments.  It also has commercial uses.

     The Grayland Theater was located at 3940 N. Cicero Avenue, Chicago.  It was built in 1909 and opened as a theater in 1912. It as a small single screen theater with seating for 299 patrons.  It showed silent films with live organ accompaniment.

     The architect was William  Ohlhaber.  The exterior facade was brick and architectural terra cotta.  This was common in the early 1900’s.  The original owner was Samuel Wertheimer.  He owned the theater until 1926.  He sold it to Albert Schmidt for 4,000.

  There was an unfortunate incident at the theater on October 26, 1926.    At this time Schmidt lured Wertheimer in the basement of Grayland at shot him twice.   After that, Schmidt committed suicide.

     The story was that Schmidt was unhappy with the revenues of the theater.

     The theater closed in 1929.

This theater is located at 4380 Elston Avenue Chicago. It opened in March 31, 2023. The architect was Edward G. McClellan.   The builder was Howell Knox. The building style is classical..  There is a single screen.  The capacity was 1302 seats. The theater closed in December,1949s

     There are a series of large arched window bays along upper levels. The facade was constructed using traditional Chicago common brick accented by bonding patterns.

     During theater operation (1923 to 1949), there was a central illuminated marquee above the main entrance on Elston Avenue.

       After the theater closed ,the building was repurposed as the Rivioli Ballroom in 1950. The Rivoli Ballroom transformation was part of a broader  trend in the mid 20th century Chicago where former theaters were repurposed for social and entertainment events.    During the 1950’s to 1960’s the building operated as the Rivoli Ballroom and later Antoines’s Ballroom and Banquets.  Follow its use as a banquet hall, it was used as a warehouse/storage facility.  This occurred until the 1980’s.