Open House Chicago offers much to explore — from Art Nouveau clubs to antique shops
Growing up on the Near North Side, Peter Vale was too young to go into Maxim’s, the Art Nouveau restaurant his parents went to in the basement of the modernist Astor Tower Hotel.
That’s why he was determined to check out the space, now known as the Astor Club, as part of the annual Open House Chicago tour on Saturday. The private dinner club, at 24 E. Goethe St., has been restored to resemble the original eatery, which opened in 1963.
Vale and throngs of visitors entered architect Bertrand Goldberg’s tall, sleek white building, descended a curving staircase and were transported into an intimate, yet lavish, space featuring crimson walls and carpeting, plush seating, ornate, vintage light fixtures and memorabilia. People can explore a small lobby, bar area, two retro phone booths and a dining room that also includes a stage.
“It’s very grand, and the architectural details are fascinating,” said Vale, who now lives in Old Town. “The building is very modern. So, to me, it's fascinating to come downstairs and then see it's such a contrast with the 1960s architecture.”
The Astor Club is one of more than 20 new sites featured at Open House Chicago, which is expected to draw tens of thousands to more than 170 locations this weekend. The free event continues Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., though hours at individual locations may vary.
The event, launched in 2011, is designed to show off the city’s architectural beauty, as well as its many historically and culturally significant institutions and sites.
Participants can plan their itineraries by visiting architecture.org.
Staff are often on hand to provide behind-the-scenes information. On Saturday at the Astor Club, employees and volunteers could be heard regaling visitors with tales from the past — and there is plenty of material: Maxim’s served a bevy of famous patrons, including the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Kennedys and Muhammad Ali, according to Adam Bilter, who owns the club with his wife, Victoria.
“We actually went through the old gossip column articles from the Sun-Times,” said Bilter, who also sourced information from former employees.
Detail-oriented design enthusiasts will appreciate the original hand-molded plaster on the walls and ceilings, as well as the original marble bar. History buffs will be delighted by the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec art piece on the wall, the 1936 Steinway piano and display of empty wine bottles from when the bar was open in the 1960s.
Bilter said he did not expect the long line of visitors that greeted him Saturday.
“I thought there were going to be 50 people scattered throughout the whole day,” he said.
West of the Astor Club, people were trickling into Salvage One, another new site featured on Open House Chicago tour. Located at 1840 W. Hubbard St., the architectural salvage store has preserved an impressive collection of items from torn-down buildings in Chicago and beyond.
The West Town shop has three floors of mantels, columns, doorknobs, sinks, bathtubs, couches, chairs and pews. One room has a vast inventory of block letters rescued from old building signs; another has aisle upon aisle of old doors.
Especially impressive is an intentionally decorated room with antique pink furniture and an elegant armoire lined with pink fabric.
Though the room is used as a wedding suite (Salvage One hosts plenty of weddings in the courtyard), all of the furniture is for sale.
Each item in the shop has a story, whether it is known or not. On Saturday, owner Jane Rodak pointed out one bar rescued from the Bismarck Hotel and a bar back that will be moving into the new TimeLine Theatre building, due to open in 2026.
“We've been in business since 1979," Rodak said. "We've been in this space since 2001. But there are still so many people who haven't heard of us, or they come in and say, 'Oh my God! We've lived in this neighborhood for years. We didn't know you were here.'"
Places like the Astor Club and Salvage One inspire with unique design elements. But sites like the Fair Trade Museum inspire with educational exhibits. Located at 4704 N. Broadway, the organization is dedicated to promoting fair trade, a business model that centers on fair wages and environmental sustainability.
On Saturday, visitors perused exhibits on the sources of the food they consume every day, the history of the fair trade movement, the fast fashion industry and the labor movement in Chicago.
“We exist to advocate for fair trade and to make people aware of the issues behind all the products that we just really take for granted," said Nancy Demuth, director of outreach and engagement at the museum. "So, taking part in Open House Chicago and having the opportunity to have so many more people come through to learn how they can make better choices as consumers just makes perfect sense for us."
In addition to providing details on each location, the Open House Chicago website also has information on surrounding restaurants, playgrounds and "activations" or programming at each site.
"We want people to spend an hour or two hours in a neighborhood and get to know the place a little bit," said Adam Rubin, senior director of public engagement at the Chicago Architecture Center. "It really is about building pride in Chicago."