historically important early 20th century american 850 lakeshore drive athletic club cast plaster ceiling medallion

unusally-shaped gold enameled flush mount or ceiling rosette designed and fabricated by the decorators' supply company, chicago, ills. the distinctive cast plaster ornament was salvaged from the lakeshore drive athletic main lobby. residual plaster and horse hair has been from the backside of the rodnel. the 19-story towering beax-arts style lakeshore athletic club building was designed by renowned chicago architect jarvis hunt in 1927. the extant chicago landmark is located on a prominent corner along the shores of lake michigan. the interior boasted a gargantuan marble-clad lobby, with ornamented bronze chandeliers and gilded plasterwork. in addition, the building contained stunning ballrooms, a reading room and a pool room bedecked with nautical-themed polychromatic enamel tiles found along the walls and floors surrounding the pool. in 1928, the lakeshore athletic club received national attention when it hosted the 1928 olympic swimming trials, where gold medalist and future holywood actor johnny weissmuller qualified for the olympic games being held in amsterdam. during the late 1970's (and after falling into disrepair), the outdated building was purchased by northwestern university for use as a dormitory for the ir students for the next several years. after changing ownership again in 2008-9, the then-abandoned building received a major overhaul in preparation for conversion into luxury apartments.