10/07/2020
Now for an Inktober history lesson! This drawing was a challenging process as the building has been demolished since the late 60s, and I couldn't find any one photo with a good angle. I compiled as many photos as I could find, as well as architectural plans and historical aerial photography, to piece together what it probably looked like right after construction was completed in 1916. I then built a basic massing 3d model based on all this info and established my angle from it, included some "guide line" geometry for scale and placement of windows, printed it at size, and did a graphite transfer to the watercolor paper. A little overkill maybe but I considered it a history lesson in understanding, and accurately reconstructing, this lost building.
The Edgewater Beach Hotel, as it would have appeared from the north after construction was completed in 1916, until 3 years later there were changes to the terrace and an addition of penthouses to the northeast and southeast wings. Located on the lakefront of Chicago's northside (Sheridan and Berwyn) with a private beach, the hotel was such a success in its first years drawing visitors from around the country, that an additional building was constructed to the south in 1924. The second building, called The Annex, rose to 19 stories and offered an additional 600 rooms to the existing 400. The property also had ballrooms, restaurants, pools, tennis courts, and an elaborate hall between the two buildings, the Passaggio.
Edgewater's beloved "Pink Building," Edgewater Beach Apartments, is the last standing remnant of the Edgewater Beach Hotel, as both hotel buildings were demolished in the late 1960s after the extension of Lake Shore Drive cut off direct access to the beach.
