680 N Lake Shore Drive

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680 N Lake Shore Drive (a.k.a. Lake Shore Place) is a 29 story building located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Originally named the American Furniture Mart, it was designed by Henry Raeder and construction was completed in 1926. At 474 ft (144 m) tall and encompassing the entire block between Lake Shore Drive and McClurg Court St, it was the largest building in the world when it was completed.

[edit] Architecture

Construction of the American Furniture Mart was undertaken in two phases: the eastern section was completed in 1923, and the western portion (including the tower) in 1926. The eastern half is constructed with reinforced concrete, whereas the western half, as well as the tower, is steel. The building was converted to condominium and office space between 1979-84 by Lohan Associates, Inc. It is now home to 415 condo units divided amongst the building's three separate condominium associations: the Tower, the Lake, and the South residences.

[edit] History

During its early decades as the American Furniture Mart, no one seemed to notice the building's address: 666 N. Lake Shore Drive, the numbers "666" being the Number of the Beast. In March 1988, the building's name was officially changed to 680 North Lake Shore Drive. A few month's later, Playboy Enterprises moved their corporate headquarters from its original location in the Palmolive Building to the current location at 680 N. Lake Shore Dr. Since then, 680 has been colloquially referred to as the "(new) Playboy Building".