Photograph of Harold Minsky and showgirls, Chicago (Ill.), 1970-1979

Harold Minsky poses with six showgirls at the Playboy Hotel. The dancers are wearing rhinestone bikini-style costumes and large feathered headdresses. The Knickerbocker has gone through several incarnations since it opened in 1927. Legend has it that in the 1930s the hotel housed a casino frequented by Al Capone. During World War II and the Korean War, US Armed Forces officers would fill the property's hallways and play cards in the Officer's Club. In 1952, Richard Nixon was nominated Vice President during the Republican National Convention held in the hotel. Finally, in the 1970s it became the Playboy Hotel, owned by Hugh Hefner. Site Name: Playboy Hotel (Chicago, Ill.) Street Address: 163 East Walton Place