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This project was in one of downtown Chicago's best-known landmark districts. The buildings comprising the East Lake Shore Drive historic district were built between 1912 and 1929 and designated a Chicago landmark on April 18, 1985. The architects (Marshall & Fox and Fugard & Knapp) based their designs on established European styles, these plush apartment buildings nonetheless represented a break with tradition. The population influx at the turn of the century had placed downtown Chicago real estate at a premium, and it was these buildings (among others) that made apartment living a viable alternative for the very wealthy. The East Lake Shore Drive historic district is comprised of a total of eight buildings: the Drake Hotel and seven apartment highrises. This property was the former, Mayfair Regent hotel which overlooks the city's prettiest stretch of Lake Shore Drive. Many Chicagoans' dined at its famous restaurant, Ciel Bleu ("blue sky") which was considered one of Chicago's most romantic restaurants with its intimate European ambiance and a superlative view and was located on the 19th penthouse floor. In 1996, the Mayfair Regent was converted to a glittering Gold-Coast apartment by LR Developers. Noir Blanc Interiors LLC, President Barbara Segal spent two jovial years working with the Chicago widowed owner on this historical rehab. It was this project that came to her as epiphany of what her life’s work was to be.