1800 N. Clybourn

1800 N. Clybourn was a shopping center at 1800 North Clybourn Avenue in Chicago's Clybourn Corridor, an area of Lincoln Park that developed around former industrial properties. The complex occupied a building with an industrial past: it had previously housed the William D. Gibson spring factory and later served as a Turtle Wax manufacturing plant. Developers converted the structure into a three-level enclosed specialty shopping center, preserving prominent elements of the earlier factory, including exposed wood beams and brickwork. The project was conceived as more than a conventional retail mall. Developer Tem Horwitz presented it as an industrial setting combined with the atmosphere of a traveling fair, and the center emphasized entertainment, restaurants, distinctive architecture, and unconventional merchandising alongside shopping. Its interior was noted for exuberant design and unusual presentation. The tenant mix included apparel and accessory retailers, gift shops, a travel agency, a nail salon, a family aerobics club, restaurants, and entertainment-oriented businesses. Goose Island Brewery, Metropolis 1800, an artist-designed miniature-golf venue called Par Excellence, Muddler's Pool Room, and the adjoining Caffe Lupi were among the better-known occupants associated with the center. Entertainment was central to the original concept. The development opened with Willow Street Carnival, a 450-seat cabaret-style theater founded by Bernard Sahlins. A ten-screen cinema was also proposed for the site, although the available reference material does not establish that the cinema was built. Despite the ambition of the concept, the center opened with only about half of its 40 spaces leased. The combination of a difficult economic climate, store closures, and weak occupancy undermined the project soon after opening. By April 1993, the property had been foreclosed amid numerous tenant closures. It was subsequently acquired by CRM Properties. The new owner removed much of the richly decorated enclosed interior and reconfigured the property into three buildings separated by parking lots. This redevelopment ended 1800 N. Clybourn's existence as the original enclosed specialty shopping center, although portions of the physical complex continued to be used for retail, hospitality, and office purposes. By 2015, the remaining large L-shaped building housed Bed Bath & Beyond, the former original location of Goose Island Brewery, a furniture retailer, and real-estate offices on upper floors. Two smaller buildings accommodated Patagonia and GapKids. The pair of crenellated four-story towers facing Clybourn Avenue remained visible, while much of the structure between them had been demolished. The name is therefore best understood as the identity of a historically notable Chicago shopping-center development rather than as an ongoing consumer-goods brand.

1800 N. Clybourn occupied a former industrial site on North Clybourn Avenue in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood. Before becoming a shopping center, the building was used by the William D. Gibson spring factory and later by Turtle Wax for manufacturing. Its industrial construction supplied the basis for an adaptive-reuse retail project rather than a newly built suburban mall. The redevelopment transformed the property into a three-level enclosed specialty shopping center. The conversion retained visible industrial details, including wood beams and brickwork, while adding an exuberant interior intended to make the building itself part of the visitor experience. Developer Tem Horwitz described the concept as an industrial environment with the atmosphere of a traveling fair. Contemporary coverage emphasized the project's unusual architecture and merchandising strategy, distinguishing it from more standardized shopping centers. The center's tenant plan mixed retail with food, leisure, and entertainment. Apparel and accessory shops, gift stores, personal services, a travel agency, a nail salon, and a family aerobics club operated alongside restaurants and attractions. Goose Island Brewery, Metropolis 1800, Par Excellence miniature golf, Muddler's Pool Room, and Caffe Lupi were among the named venues. Willow Street Carnival, a 450-seat cabaret-style theater founded by Bernard Sahlins, opened as an important entertainment component. A ten-screen cinema was proposed, though the available source does not confirm its completion. The development struggled to reach the scale envisioned by its promoters. Only approximately half of its 40 spaces were leased at opening, leaving the project exposed to weak occupancy and the broader recessionary environment. Store closures accumulated, and the original concept did not remain viable for long. In April 1993, the building entered foreclosure. CRM Properties acquired the property soon afterward and changed its physical and commercial form. The richly decorated enclosed courts were demolished, and the site was divided into three buildings separated by parking areas. This intervention removed much of the architectural and experiential environment that had defined the original shopping center, while preserving some of the larger structural elements. By 2015, the surviving L-shaped building contained Bed Bath & Beyond, the former original Goose Island Brewery location, a furniture retailer, and real-estate offices on upper floors. Patagonia and GapKids occupied two smaller structures. The crenellated four-story towers facing Clybourn Avenue remained as recognizable remnants, but much of the connecting structure had disappeared. The history of 1800 N. Clybourn consequently illustrates both the possibilities and risks of converting industrial architecture into an entertainment-led retail destination: it gained local architectural distinctiveness and a broad tenant concept, but limited leasing, recessionary conditions, and tenant attrition led to foreclosure and substantial redevelopment.

• 2015

  Remaining buildings retain retail and office uses

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  The remaining complex included Bed Bath & Beyond, the former Goose Island Brewery location, a furniture retailer, real-estate offices, Patagonia, and GapKids.

• 1993

  Foreclosure

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  The property was foreclosed in April after a recession and numerous store closures undermined the original development.

• Industrial and manufacturing use

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  The building later known as 1800 N. Clybourn first served as the William D. Gibson spring factory and subsequently as a Turtle Wax manufacturing plant.

• Conversion into an enclosed specialty shopping center

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  The former industrial building was converted into a three-level shopping center that retained wood beams and brickwork while introducing a highly theatrical interior.

• Opening with retail and entertainment tenants

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  The center launched with a mixed tenant strategy combining specialty stores, restaurants, leisure venues, and Willow Street Carnival, a 450-seat cabaret theater.

• Post-foreclosure redevelopment

  [1]1800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org

  CRM Properties acquired the site, demolished the interior courts, and reorganized the property into three buildings separated by parking lots.

An entertainment-oriented specialty shopping center that combined adaptive reuse of an industrial building with distinctive architecture, restaurants, retail stores, and experiential attractions.

• 1993

  Reconfigure the property after foreclosureStrategy

  Background

  Following foreclosure and widespread tenant closures, the original enclosed shopping-center format was no longer maintained.

  Action taken

  CRM Properties acquired the building, removed the decorated enclosed courts, and divided the site into three buildings separated by parking lots.

  Aftermath

  The original enclosed specialty shopping center ceased to exist in its former form, although parts of the property continued operating as retail and office space.

  Source

• Position the center as an entertainment-led retail destinationStrategy

  Background

  The development was planned as more than a conventional shopping mall, using preserved industrial architecture, theatrical design, restaurants, and leisure attractions to create a destination experience.

  Action taken

  The tenant and design strategy combined specialty retail with a cabaret theater, brewery, miniature golf, pool hall, restaurants, and other experiential uses.

  Aftermath

  The concept generated attention but did not achieve sufficient occupancy or long-term commercial stability; only about half of the 40 spaces were leased at opening.

  Source

1. 11800 N. Clybournen.wikipedia.org