The Aquitania was completed in 1923 and designed in the Classical Revival style by architects Ralph C. Harris and Byron H. Jillson.
When The Aquitania was competed in 1923, it was situated directly on the Lake Michigan shore (more on how that changed in the next section). The 15-story building has 82-unit cooperative apartments, a classic courtyard, and an Art Moderne lobby decorated with murals by Louis Weinzelbaum and original artwork by J. M. Cadel. The Aquitania became a cooperative apartment building in 1949, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
WHEN CHICAGO WAS HOLLYWOOD
In the early 1900s, George K. Spoor's Essanay Studio defined the art and success of motion picture production in the United States. As the premier studio in the premier film-making city, Essanay employed the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, Wallace Beery, Beverly Bayne, and Francis X. Bushman. With renowned gossip columnist Louella Parsons as an early scriptwriter, Essanay produced silent films from the company's lot at 1345 W. Argyle, as well as from other Chicago-area locations. Christopher Columbus “landed” in Jackson Park; Lawrence of Arabia plied the Indiana Dunes; and the streets of Uptown and Edgewater doubled as their counterparts around the world!
New York architects Ralph Harris and Byron Jillson were commissioned to build The Aquitania Hotel to house Essanay talent and employees who flocked to Chicago for film industry work. The magnificent Georgian edifice produced by Byron and Jillson sat on a parcel of lakefront land owned by Mr. Spoor just east of his home at 908 West Argyle Street.
The Aquitania (named for the famous Cunard ocean liner) was finished in 1923 – a splendid construction upon what at the time was a popular Lake Michigan beach. The building was designed to afford dramatic views from each apartment and boasted characteristically Georgian bay windows and distinctive terracotta ornamentation the likes of which are rarely found on any Chicago building of its size. Since 1949, The Aquitania has been managed as a co-op – a form of property ownership common in New York but somewhat rare in Chicago.
Al Capone's attorney is purported to have resided in the building. Current residents are less notorious, representing a mix of old and young, long-time and shorter-term residents, a smattering of children and teenagers and several domestic animals – all of whom have chosen to live in, embrace, and preserve this historic monument on the edge of Margate Park. At 5000 North Marine Drive, The Aquitania has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It is one of the few buildings of its size and embellishment remaining on Chicago's lakefront.
A glimpse into a typical apartment
Views of the original lobby
Completed in 1923, the “Aquitania Apartment Hotel” was named after the R.M.S. Aquitania (meaning “Ship Beautiful"). A British ocean liner of the Cunard Line (in service from 1914 to 1950) R.M.S. Aquitania was one of Cunard’s longest-serving and most famous ships, and is considered among the most luxurious ocean liners of her time.