Breathing New Life into the Past: Inside a 22-Month Gut Renovation of a 1920s Chicago Gold Coast Penthouse

Main Facts

High above the bustling streets of Chicago’s prestigious Gold Coast Historic District, an 8,000-square-foot, 1920s penthouse duplex commands breathtaking, panoramic views of Lake Michigan. Boasting soaring ceilings, intricate Art Deco crown molding, and stately original paneling, the historic residence possessed an undeniable, romantic architectural pedigree. Yet, despite its grand scale and structural beauty, the property struggled to accommodate the modern rhythms of a contemporary family of six.

The home suffered from a disjointed floor plan that lacked essential modern amenities: an eat-in kitchen suitable for casual family life, adequate outdoor entertaining space, a functional mudroom for the family dog, and intuitive spatial connections that could facilitate gathering and modern entertaining.

To resolve these architectural friction points, the homeowners enlisted architect Joan Craig and her adept team from the AD PRO Directory design studio Craig & Company. Partnering with Chicago-based general contractor Gray Salt Construction and New York-based architectural lighting designer Nathan Orsman, the team embarked on a rigorous, 22-month gut renovation.

The resulting project serves as a masterclass in historic preservation and modern adaptation. By delicately balancing reverence for 1920s craftsmanship with cutting-edge 21st-century conveniences, the design team successfully transformed a rigid, compartmentalized period relic into a fluid, light-filled urban sanctuary without sacrificing an ounce of its authentic charm.

Chronology of a Transformation

Executing a sensitive overhaul of a historic landmark requires precise timing and strategic phasing. Rather than diving headfirst into traditional sequential construction, the project team devised a staggered timeline to minimize delays and address structural surprises efficiently.

Phase 1: Strategic Demolition and Discovery

The transformation began long before the final interior finishes were selected. To fast-track the 22-month schedule, the general contracting firm Gray Salt Construction secured a separate demolition permit. This allowed structural demolition to proceed immediately while the architects and design team finalized construction documents and secured building permits from the city.

According to Molly Gray, cofounder of Gray Salt Construction, this preemptive strategy proved invaluable. "It allowed us to identify and address any unknown conditions inside historic walls more quickly," she notes. During this initial demolition phase, workers uncovered a poignant piece of the building’s history: the original signatures of 1920s millworkers inscribed on the back of a wood panel in the study, dated March 22, 1928.

Phase 2: Reworking the Core Layout

With the non-original interior walls cleared, the team executed a sweeping re-imagination of the upper level. The narrow original kitchen and its adjacent, disused service kitchen were entirely razed to make way for a sprawling, modern culinary space complete with a dedicated butler’s pantry, a breakfast island, and an intimate dining room.

Concurrently, a dated solarium—estimated to have been tacked on during the 1960s or 1970s—was demolished and replaced with a warm family room and a brand-new limestone-clad terrace. This single intervention doubled the penthouse’s outdoor living space.

Phase 3: Infrastructure and Concealment

Once the framing and spatial layout were locked in, the most technically demanding phase began: retrofitting invisible modern infrastructure. Installing new air handlers, ductwork, electrical conduits, and high-capacity water and gas lines around rigid historic architecture proved to be half the battle. The remainder of the effort focused on concealing these systems behind hidden doors, wall panels, and mirrored surfaces.

Phase 4: Custom Replication and Restoration

With the mechanical backbone secured, artisans set to work restoring and replicating historic details. Where original trim, moldings, and mantels were damaged or missing, the contractor deployed 3D modeling technology to mill exact wood and rubber replicas. Artisans meticulously restored the 15-foot living room ceilings, the wrought-iron stair railings, and the leaded-glass windows, outfitting the latter with protective exterior storm units.

Phase 5: Layering Interior Design and Final Installation

The final months of the 22-month project were dedicated to interior styling, custom finishes, and smart-home integration. Guided by a color palette inspired by the vast blue of Lake Michigan and the necessity of warming up Chicago’s gray winters, the team applied high-gloss lacquers, handmade terrazzo flooring, and bespoke textiles. The project culminated in a seamless blend of historical reverence and contemporary luxury.

Supporting Data & Architectural Specifications

The Chicago Gold Coast penthouse renovation relied on a convergence of fine craftsmanship, advanced technology, and high-end materials to achieve its hybrid aesthetic.

• Project Scope: An 8,000-square-foot penthouse duplex originally constructed in the 1920s.
• Timeline: 22 months from initial planning to final styling.
• Key Collaborators:
  • Lead Architecture & Design: Craig & Company (Architect Joan Craig and Associate Partner Taylor Stein)
  • General Contracting: Gray Salt Construction (Cofounder Molly Gray)
  • Architectural Lighting & AV Design: Nathan Orsman
  • Custom Terrazzo Flooring: Menconi (Chicago-based artisan studio)
• Smart Home & Lighting Infrastructure:
  • Powered by a centralized Crestron system controlling lighting, HVAC, audio, and security.
  • Specified by Nathan Orsman, the lighting ecosystem includes 9 Lutron dimming panels, 6 shade-control panels, and 4 keypad panels.
• Material Palette:
  • High-gloss peacock blue lacquer utilized as a unifying accent across the dining room, kitchen doors, powder room, and home offices.
  • Brazilian quartzite featured on kitchen backsplashes.
  • Hand-laid terrazzo flooring in the entry, embedded with brass inlays that echo the home’s original bronze stair railings and decorative laylight.
  • Custom deep-purple lacquered wood paneling in the husband’s office, serving as a subtle nod to Northwestern University.

Official Responses and Professional Insights

The success of the penthouse renovation hinged on a collaborative philosophy shared by the design and construction leads. Navigating the intersection of historic preservation and modern family life demanded constant dialogue about what to keep, what to modify, and what to discard entirely.

Reflecting on the overarching design ethos, architect Joan Craig discusses a fundamental question central to her practice and documented in her book, On Artistry: Architecture and Interiors (Rizzoli): "An interesting conversation, and one we have with a lot of our colleagues, is: ‘To what extent are you attached to the original material?’" Craig notes. In this penthouse, the team chose to fiercely protect the architectural bones—such as the grand living room paneling and the entry’s brass-and-glass laylight—while ruthlessly shedding inefficient layouts like the obsolete service kitchen.

Taylor Stein, associate partner at Craig & Company, emphasizes the importance of multifunctional spaces in historic structures. "In a lot of historic properties, the first target is bringing the kitchen into the 21st century," Stein observes. "Here, it was also about creating the option for the client to have an open, free-flowing living space, or to be able to portion it off."

By installing pocket doors paneled in hand-painted wallpaper and windowed sliders, the architects achieved ultimate spatial flexibility. "With all the doors open, a new enfilade pulls sunlight through the floor plan from east to west," Stein explains. "Closing them offers the option to cordon off each room."

General contractor Molly Gray highlights the hidden complexities of historic retrofitting. "Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems represent some of the most time-consuming, costly, and complex components of a historic renovation project and yet they are also the elements that largely disappear once the residence is finished and furnished," Gray states. By prioritizing early structural investigations and utilizing advanced 3D modeling for millwork replication, Gray Salt Construction successfully bridged the gap between 1920s building methods and 21st-century technological demands.

Implications for Historic Urban Architecture

The meticulous transformation of the Gold Coast penthouse offers profound implications for the future of historic preservation in dense urban centers like Chicago, New York, and Boston. For decades, urban homeowners faced a stark dichotomy: either purchase a character-rich historic property and suffer through cramped layouts and failing infrastructure, or buy a sterile, modern high-rise devoid of architectural soul.

This project demonstrates a third, more sustainable path. By proving that 1920s structural frameworks can comfortably house advanced automation systems—such as Crestron climate control and comprehensive Lutron architectural lighting—the design team shatters the myth that historic homes are fundamentally incompatible with modern living. Furthermore, the strategic replication of missing moldings using 3D modeling establishes a replicable blueprint for preservationists looking to repair damaged architectural heritage without resorting to subpar guesswork.

Ultimately, the Craig & Company renovation redefines luxury in historic urban spaces. It champions a lifestyle where architectural grandeur and relaxed, contemporary family dynamics are no longer mutually exclusive. By honoring the past through thoughtful restoration while bravely rewriting the floor plan for the future, this Gold Coast penthouse stands as a shining model for how historic homes can endure, adapt, and thrive for generations to come.