In 1960 the “Purple Hyatt” was built
on Touhy
in Lincolnwood
in the state of Illinois
The bricks were blue purple
a mistake some claim
in truth
the architect protested
but the owners wanted purple
and so the hotel was built
and called by all the Purple Hyatt
The vertical structural beams
were outside
white in contrast to the purple bricks
We loved this building
for its simplicity
for its beauty
for its beauty
from the 1960's and 1970's
our stories of NOW conferences, weddings, first dates,
bar mitzvah parties and New Year’s eve events
In the 1980’s the gangsters took over
In 1983 there was a murder in the parking lot
We no longer went there
most of us were too old for NOW conferences and first dates
and we went elsewhere for weddings and bar mitzvah
parties and events
In 2004 a red neon sign appeared on the roof
PURPLE HOTEL
PURPLE HOTEL
Red is not purple!
The sign was so wrong, so very wrong
The purple hotel stayed open
and a friend attended a New Year’s Eve party there
a good party, she said
"but we could tell, there were not many more years left for the hotel”
In 2007 mold was found in 208 of 225 rooms
at the former Purple Hyatt, the renamed Purple Hotel
and it was condemned
closed
Still it was my touchstone
it was our landmark
when we drove down Touhy
past the building with the vertical white beams and the purple bricks
it told us where we were and who we were
when we drove down Touhy
past the building with the vertical white beams and the purple bricks
it told us where we were and who we were
In 2013 it ended
In August at the Lincolnwood Fest
and a few purple bricks were available for a donation of five dollars
and a few purple bricks were available for a donation of five dollars
people lined up around the block to get a purple brick
to remind them of the stories of their lives
I don’t have a brick
a brick is not my touchstone
a brick cannot contain my stories
a brick cannot contain my stories
a brick doesn't recall my memories
September 2013 demolition started and I mourned and took photographs week by week
September 25: No Trespassing No Bricks Available
Bricks carefully removed panel by panel - perhaps for sale or reuse?
November 1: Severe mourning as more bricks come down
View from east end at Lincoln Avenue, a few purple bricks remain, white structure the last to go
Smaller and smaller, going, gone, almost gone
My heart is broken: it is only a building but oh how it hurts
Goeffrey Baer was on Chicago Tonight and said there were two murders at the Purple Hotel. He also said Stuart Levine, who was the governments star witness to some extent in Rod Blagojevich trials, often hosted sex parties at the hotel where illegal drugs were consumed by attendees. But before all that, it was a wonderful hotel that held many wonderful memories for many of us.
ReplyDeleteThe purple hotel--your poem and the photos-reminded me of how much that hotel was "there" for me for so many years and I hadn't realized it.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of the Purple Hotel, but I love this poem! I think it nicely captures the passage of time and how something as simple as a neighborhood hotel can factor into our memories as we reflect back on our lives. Beautifully written!
ReplyDelete