Allerton sold; ‘Tip Top Tap’ might re-open

6-Mar-14 – Michigan Avenue’s Allerton Hotel has been sold. (Left) The Allerton Crowne Plaza, as it was known in 2007. (Click on image to view larger version.)

Warwick International Hotels, a company based in Paris, has taken over the Allerton’s mortgage, which now has a balance of $58.5 million.

It will be called the Warwick Allerton Hotel, one of 59 that Warwick now owns and operates, including hotels in Paris, New York, San Francisco, and Dallas.

DiamondRock Hospitality Company, the real estate investment trust that acquired the mortgage in 2010 for $60.5 million, made the announcement on Wednesday.

When it opened in 1924, the building offered small apartments – 14 floors to men and six floors to women. The swanky “Tip Top Tap” lounge closed in 1961 but the sign remains. In 1998, The Allerton was designated an official Chicago landmark and the next year it completed a $60 million renovation.

The new owners might re-open the top floor lounge. According to a statement released by Warwick, “various proposals for a Tip Top Tap bar lounge renaissance are currently under study.”