1800 N. Clybourn

1800 N. Clybourn was an enclosed shopping center located at 1800 N. Clybourn Ave. in the Clybourn Corridor area of Lincoln Park, Chicago.

Clybourn Square (1800 N. Clybourn)
1800 N. Clybourn in 2016
LocationChicago, Illinois, United States
Address1800 N. Clybourn Ave., Chicago, IL 60614
Opening date1989
Closing date1993
DeveloperHorwitz Matthews
OwnerCRM Properties Group Ltd.
No. of stores and services6
No. of anchor tenants1
Total retail floor area75,000 sq ft (6,968 m2)
No. of floors3
ParkingSurface

The building was once a factory making springs[1] and later Turtle Wax, which was converted to a three-level enclosed specialty shopping center that retained the structure's wood beams and brickwork. At its opening, developer Tem Horwitz described it as "an industrial environment with the atmosphere of a traveling fair come to town."[2] News reports pointed out the interior's exuberant architecture and unconventional merchandising plan, and that only half its 40 spaces were leased at its opening.

Among the tenants in 1990 included "pricey apparel and accessories stores, gift shops, and such services as a travel agency, a nail salon and a family aerobics club," plus restaurants and entertainment venues like "Goose Island Brewery; Metropolis 1800; Par Excellence, an artist-designed miniature golf course; Muddler's Pool Room; and its adjoining espresso bar, Caffe Lupi."[3] Entertainment was a major focus; the mall opened with Willow Street Carnival, a 450-seat[4] cabaret-style theater founded by Bernard Sahlins,[5] and had proposed a 10-screen cinema on site.[6]

What Horwitz called a "wild and crazy and fun" mall did not last long amidst a recession, and the building was foreclosed upon in April 1993 amidst numerous store closures.[7] The building was soon purchased by CRM Properties,[8] which demolished the richly decorated enclosed courts and left three buildings separated by parking lots.

As of 2015, one large L-shaped building houses anchor Bed Bath & Beyond, Goose Island Brewery (the only original tenant remaining), plus a furniture retailer and real estate offices on upper floors. Two smaller buildings house Patagonia and GapKids. The building's pair of crenellated, four-story towers still face Clybourn, but much of the structure between them was demolished.

References
  1. Kaplan, Jacob. "William D. Gibson [co.]". Forgotten Chicago. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
  2. Hayes, Charles (30 April 1989). "1800 Clybourn Sets The Stage For Shopping, Entertainment". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  3. Lauerman, Connie (18 February 1990). "The Clybourn Experiment". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  4. Morris Architects Planners. "Willow Street Carnival". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  5. Williams, Albert (1 June 1989). "Clybourn Corridor Carnival". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  6. "10-screen Movie Complex For 1800 Clybourn". Chicago Tribune. 1 October 1989. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  7. Podmolik, Mary Ellen (6 May 1993). "Clybourn Center Put Up for Sale". Chicago Sun-Times.
  8. CRM Properties Group Ltd. "Clybourn Place". Clybourn Square. Retrieved 1 June 2015.


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