In 1959, Playboy published a story about a new nightclub chain, each branch of which was called the Gaslight Club. Men looked to it for insight on what to wear, where to go and what to do in order to become a sauve, stylish bachelor – in addition to leering at the pictorials. In the years that followed, Playboy became the most popular men’s publication in the country. Hugh Hefner started Playboy magazine in his Hyde Park kitchen on Chicago’s South Side in 1953. It is this author’s hope that something with similar sophistication and style as the Chicago Playboy Club will one day re-emerge in Chicago as the mindless, thumping dance music filling up so many soulless meat markets of late, have outlived their usefulness and appeal. While it has long since been shuttered, as the nexus of the Playboy Empire moved out to Los Angeles, its legacy remains. The flagship Chicago location was so successful in its inaugural year that, it not only become the busiest club in the world, but it was also the first of 40 locations – each being referred to by Newsweek as a “Disneyland for adults.” The Chicago Playboy Club was a key addition to the swanky Magnificent Mile hotel bar district, and helped solidify the greater Rush and Division Street area as one of the most happening areas in the country during the 1960s. As VIPs of the club, Keyholders could enter the club at anytime and indulge in an atmosphere filled with music, alcohol and nubile women. These Bunnies, with their satin corsets, bunny ears and fluffy white tails served those fortunate enough to be “Keyholders” in the style of the old gaslight clubs. The club, having hired from the local talent pool, provided the first appearance of the Playboy Bunnies. Playboy magazine owner Hugh Hefner decided that Leap Year would be an appropriate time for him to open up the world’s first Playboy Club on Walton Street in the Gold Coast. Februwas a historic day for Chicago and the world.
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