Luxe Restroom Design is Right on Base at Hotel Zachary

Some of the biggest giants in architecture hail from our hometown of Chicago: Daniel Burnham, Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and William Le Baron Jenney to name a few. But there's another lesser-known visionary who is credited with what might just be the most treasured structure in Chicago—iconic Wrigley Field.

Since its 1914 debut, the park's ivy outfield walls have defined this north side gathering spot, drawing crowds from all walks of life to revel in the red brick grandstands while enjoying a panoramic view of the skyline, the sparkling waters of Lake Michigan and a game, of course.

Zachary Taylor Davis, the original architect behind the neoclassical steel-and-concrete structure, has never received his fair share of accolades—until now. That's because Davis is now the modern-day source of inspiration behind Hotel Zachary, a 173-room boutique hotel situated in the epicenter of Cubdom, on the corner of Clark and Addison.

An environment just steps away, but a century apart

Hotel Zachary was built in parallel to The 1060 Project, a multi-year investment by the Cubs and the Ricketts family to enhance and restore the park, the Wrigley Clubhouse and surrounding community infrastructure.

It was no small task to combine the turn-of-the-century elements with luxe, modern-industrial details. Since Davis has been dead for 73 years, the task of reimagining his progressive-era vision for the 21st century was left to VOA Associates (now Stantec) and Studio K Creative—who created the public spaces.

Back when less than half of the homes in the U.S. had complete indoor plumbing, Davis actually made nickel-plated open plumbing a focus of his residential designs, assuming that wherever mechanics were exposed in light and plain view, the plumber would take greater care in the quality and cleanliness of his work. This approach not only improved visibility for maintenance—it also made plumbing more ornamental.

Fast-forward to today, and Hotel Zachary's state-of-the-art lobby restrooms have been appointed with touch-free fixtures from Sloan, with the pipes and fittings now thankfully out of sight.

A winning lineup starts with Sloan

Sloan products have been part of Wrigley Field since its 1914 inception—we are the Official Water Efficiency Partner of the Chicago Cubs—so it was a natural fit to draw upon our century-old baseball heritage for Hotel Zachary's swanky, early century appeal.

The seven-story property's restaurants, art deco-inspired bar, white-tiled walls, high exposed ceilings, leather seating, cozy fireplaces—and not to forget the awesome views of the marquee and ballpark—set the stage pretty high when it comes to guest expectations for, yes, the commode.

The hotel’s designers selected Sloan Optima® EAF-700 touchless faucets,  customized in a Brushed Amber Gold finish—matching the handlebars on the stalls and the trim on the restroom mirrors—for a more timeless and vintage appeal. They also paired Sloan Royal® 111 ESS flushometer with our vitreous china water closets and urinals to create an entirely hands-free experience for visitors.

The simplicity of our fixtures, paired with post-Victorian juniper subway tiles and intricate mosaic flooring, creates the perfect backdrop for this imagined, would-be turn-of-the-century common space.

And we think it also makes for a pretty handsome result that Mr. Davis would agree stands the test of time.

Want to knock your next commercial restroom project or renovation out of the park? Talk to Sloan about our complete portfolio of water-efficient solutions and designs for the most discerning fans.