GOLD COAST — A slice of Chicago history — and Playboy legend — could be yours for $3 million.
A single-family, 3,250-square-foot condo is up for sale at 1340 N. State Parkway, the former home of the Chicago Playboy Mansion and magazine founder Hugh Hefner for $2,995,000.
"It’s a one-of-a-kind building," said Randy McGhee, of KoenigRubloff Realty Group.
The single-floor condo features three bedrooms and 2.1 bathrooms, a library and private outdoor terrace. There are hardwood floors throughout, two parking spots and storage included.
The Gold Coast building was once host to Hugh Hefner's lavish parties and home to a rotating cast of Playboy Bunnies and Playmates. At the time, a brass plate hung over the door reading, "If you don't swing, don't ring."
"From 1960 to 1971, Hef's Hutch was a gadget wonderland, a state-of-the-art electronic womb. Walls parted at the press of a button, movie screens descended from the ceiling, and Hefner's bed vibrated and spun. Windows were covered with heavy velour drapes, and parties began, as Playboy once put it, in the 'whee hours — or 4 AM," according to a Reader account.
"At one time Gold Coast debs mixed in the ballroom with celebs like Frank Sinatra, Bill Cosby, Lenny Bruce, Danny Kaye, Don Adams, Martin Luther King, and Bob Hope. Hundreds of hobnobbers came to witness the decadence — the Playmate of the Month doing the frug beneath Picasso's Reclining Nude, Nelson Algren dishing out party quips to a replica of medieval armor. Meanwhile the sound of Hef's 15-foot-long hi-fi boomed Peggy Lee ballads through the high-beamed rooms," according to the account by Richard Lalich.
Hefner left Chicago in 1974 for the California playboy mansion, donating the building to the School of the Art Institute for student dorms. In 1993, the building was bought by a developer and converted into seven condominiums.
Though there's been a wealth of remodeling throughout the building, some of the molding remains from Hef's days, McGhee said.
There's also the outline of the famous bunny logo in frosted glass on a shower door in the master bathroom.
The building was originally designed by architect David Adler in 1899 for a prominent Chicago physician, according to Chicago's Gold Coast.
The home is perfect for a family or couple who want vintage, but don't want to have to update it themselves, McGhee said.
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