London Guarantee Building

EVOLVING PURPOSE

The London Guarantee Building was home to a multitude of tenants throughout the 20th century.

In the early 1950s, the London House Jazz Club opened its doors on the building’s first floor. It was one of the foremost jazz clubs in the country and hosted musicians like Oscar Peterson, Frank Sinatra, Ramsey Lewis, Barbara Carroll and many others. As rock and roll began to eclipse jazz, the famous nightclub and restaurant closed its doors in the early 1970s.

The Stone Container Corporation signed a long-term lease in the space in 1960. Decades later, Crain Communications acquired the building. As the building changed hands, it also changed names. People often referred to the structure by its principal tenant at the time, which caused confusion among Chicago residents and visitors alike.

REVITALIZED ANCHOR

Toward the end of the 20th century, the building was no longer the thriving hub it once was. It remained largely empty until the Oxford Capital Group acquired the building in 2013. Two years later, the corporation announced its plans to launch one of the most ambitious downtown restoration projects in recent years. Taking a titular cue from the departed jazz club, the 452-room LondonHouse Chicago hotel opened in spring 2016. Major changes included a 22-story glass addition containing ballrooms and meeting spaces designed by Goettsch Partners, and an extremely popular 3-level rooftop lounge.

The building’s transition from insurance mecca to jazz joint to successful hotel demonstrates its ability to stay relevant over nearly a century. The London Guarantee and Accident Building is still an anchor of the Michigan Avenue Bridge, but it has also cemented itself as a mainstay of Chicago’s future.