| Overton Hygienic Building | |
| Nrhp Type: | cp |
| Nocat: | yes |
| Designated Other1 Name: | Chicago Landmark |
| Designated Other1 Date: | September 9, 1998 |
| Designated Other1 Abbr: | CL |
| Designated Other1 Link: | Chicago Landmark |
| Designated Other1 Color: |
|
| Location: | 3619-27 S. State St. Chicago, Illinois |
| Coordinates: | 41.828°N -87.6262°W |
| Built: | 1922 |
| Architect: | Z. Erol Smith |
| Added: | April 30, 1986 |
| Mpsub: | Black Metropolis TR |
| Refnum: | 86001091 |
Hygienic Manufacturing Company, also known as Overton Hygienic Company, was a cosmetics company established by Anthony Overton. It was one of the nation's largest producers of African-American cosmetics. Anthony Overton also ran other businesses from the building, including the Victory Life Insurance Company and Douglass National Bank, the first nationally chartered, African-American-owned bank.[1] The Overton Hygienic Building is a Chicago Landmark and part of the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area of Chicago, Illinois. It is located at 3619-3627 South State Street.
The building was commissioned by Anthony Overton in 1922 as a combination of a store, office, and manufacturing building. It was regarded as one of the most important buildings within the district.[2] Overton would later commission the Chicago Bee Building in 1929.
Walter T. Bailey, the first licensed African-American architect in the state of Illinois, had his first Chicago office on the second floor of the Overton Hygienic Building.[3] [4] [5]
The building was later named the Palace Hotel and served for some time as a flophouse, with residents crowded into stalls 8 feet by 5½ feet. The second, third, and fourth floors each housed 125 stalls, with dormitory-style bathrooms and showers, for a total of 375 stalls.[6] The building is now owned and being developed by the Mid-South Planning and Development Commission, which will use the building as an incubator for small businesses and startups within the Black Metropolis neighborhood.[7]