Formerly: Kinzie Steakhouse Formerly: Chicago Varnish Company Building Built: 1895 Designed by: Henry Ives Cobb Renovated: 1987 Type: Restaurant Stories: 4 Location: 33 West Kinzie Street, Chicago, United States
A lot of buildings are either culturally significant, or architecturally
interesting. In the case of the River North branch of Harry Caray's
restaurant, it is both. The building is a celebration of Dutch
architecture with its red brick facade, and stepped gables accented in
white. The windows, doors, and virtually all the architectural details
are similarly accented in light-colored stone with contrasting-colored
bricks radiating from above the windows.
Culturally, this building represents one of the largest personalities in
the City of Big Shoulders. Harry Caray was the play-by-play announcer for
the Chicago Cubs baseball team, and his oversized glasses, slurred speech,
and crowd-rallying seven-inning stretch songs made him a beloved icon.
Harry died in 1998, but his spirit lives on through the memorabilia inside
the restaurant which bears his name, and which is still the center of
major civic events and a draw for baseball fans from around the country.
» Chicago Tribune columnist Mike Royko may have the distinction of
being the only person to ever to take back a piece of memorabilia from
Harry Caray's. He demanded his picture back after learning about the
restaurant's policy of not taking reservations. The restaurant has
since changed its policy.
» 1987 - Harry Caray's restaurant opens.
» July, 2001 - The building is named a Chicago landmark.
New York, United States
