Former Chicago Historical Society Building

Old Chicago Historical Society Building
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Chicago Landmark
Location:	Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates:	41°53′36.92″N 87°37′47.85″W / 41.8935889°N 87.6299583°W / 41.8935889; -87.6299583Coordinates: 41°53′36.92″N 87°37′47.85″W / 41.8935889°N 87.6299583°W / 41.8935889; -87.6299583
Built:	1892
Architect:	Henry Ives Cobb
Architectural style:	Other, Romanesque
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	78001126 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 28, 1978
Designated CL:	February 26, 1997

The Former Chicago Historical Society Building is the official name of a historic landmark located on the northwest corner of Dearborn and Ontario streets in downtown Chicago. Built in 1892, it is a prime example of Henry Ives Cobb's Romanesque Revival architecture, and the home of the Chicago Historical Society prior to relocating to Lincoln Park. This large granite-clad building is simply known as "Excalibur" or "Vision" by Chicago's populace, because it houses two popular nightclubs with those names. Henceforth, Excalibur will be used as a substitute title to the cumbersome name, "Former Chicago Historical Society Building."

History and Urban Legends

The Chicago Historical Society ceased to use the building as a museum in 1931. The building was also used as a prestigious design school and a recording studio for rock n' roll and blues performers during the 1950s and 60s. According to rumors,^[who?] the building was also used to house corpses from a shipwreck, was a mob-related murder scene, a pornographic theater, and a crack house before it was turned into Limelight Nightclub by Peter Gatien in 1985.

Patrons and employees reported strange occurrences, such as glasses falling and shattering for no explainable reason. People claim that they saw a child, and a woman wearing red dress briefly appear, before vanishing in thin air. Excalibur gained so much notoriety that it was featured on the History Channel's Haunted History program.

Excalibur and Vision Nightclubs

Main article: Excalibur (nightclub)

Excalibur was a popular hangout for Dennis Rodman when he played professional basketball for the Chicago Bulls during the late 1990s. Vision is a large multi-level, multi-room nightclub that caters to anyone who likes hip-hop, trance, and or house music. Chicago attracts people from all over the nation to visit Vision, when internationally well-known DJs such as Armin van Buuren or James Holden play live sets at the venue. Also Gabriel & Dresden, Paul Van Dyke, etc...

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2006-03-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 

External links

• Chicago Landmarks, Former Chicago Historical Society Building
• Gaper's Block listing haunted places in Chicago
• Vision Nightclub

See also

• Chicago architecture