Long before the fame of the Playboy Mansion West brought by reality TV, there was the original Playboy Mansion in Chicago at 1340 N State Parkway in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. Built in 1899 and purchased by a young Hugh Hefner in 1959. In the 70s Hef divided his time between the Chicago Mansion and the Mansion West, until finally moving to the California mansion full time. The Chicago mansion remained for a number of years after as a hang out for inner circle friends of Playboy. It included "Bunny Dorms" an indoor pool, a ball room, a bowling alley and a game room, among many other amenities in the sprawling 70 room compound. A brass plate on the door read "Si Non Oscillas, Noli Tintinnare," or, "If you don't swing, don't ring." To learn more about the mansion see http://www.upchicago.com/original-playboy-mansion-and-nightclub
With Hef and company setting up camp in LA, the Chicago mansion no longer served it's original purpose, and Hef bequeathed it to his alma mater, The Art Instituteof Chicago, where, for a number of years, it was used as student dorms and studio spaces. However, Hef left behind the now out-of-date game room and bowling alley as well as their contents.
Ultimately, The Art Institute decided the value of the property outweighed its usefulness as dorms and painting studios, and sold the property to a developer who would convert the mansion into a number of luxury condo homes. Apparently there was an auction to sell off much of the properties contents, however, in the 80s and early 90s, Playboy was not in vogue and the auction was not well publicized or attended. The entrepreneurial real estate agent selling the property placed a simple ad in the Chicago Tribune listing the remaining contents including some video games, bowling balls, and even the high score plaques that hung on the gameroom walls. As a young man, born and raised in Chicago, I was fascinated by the history of the Chicago Mansion, and the life of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. After seeing the classified ad I jumped at the chance to get a private tour of the old mansion and see some of Hef’s old stuff. I showed up with cash and walked away with the Bally Playboy Pinball Machine, two bowling balls from the bowling alley – with “Playboy” imprinted on them, as well as one high score plaque from the game room. Unfortunately someone else had already purchased the one-and-only “gold” bowling ball with the inscription “Hef”!
The Playboy machine has never been restored and shows its age, as it was also used by the Art Institute students with disregard for its history. The backglass is great but the playfield is a bit rough. In general, it’s a very nice machine, and truly one-of-a-kind.
The bowling balls are in very good shape. And the wood high score plaque with removable names/scores is in decent shape. But of course, the value of these items has more to do with their history and much less to do with their condition. Any idea what these items might be worth?
