May 18--Sure, you know the last name -- Pritzker. As in Jay Pritzker Pavilion or the Pritzker Architecture Prize.
But when he opened the Chicago Athletic Association, John Pritzker wanted to honor his mother by using her first name -- Cindy.
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Now, Cindy's is the rooftop jewel on top of the building housing a labyrinth with a lobby-turned-lounge, game room and cozy restaurant. After opening last May, Cindy's sweeping views of the lake made it a popular spot for summer.
Cindy Pritzker, 92, spoke there Tuesday with broadcaster and friend Bill Kurtis, of NPR's weekly news quiz show "Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me" as part of the Storytelling Series, which kicked off a monthlong celebration for the CAA's one-year anniversary.
Cindy's includes a private dining room, where a Warhol portrait of her hangs. She said Tuesday that it was "on loan" to her son and from an on-a-whim outing in New York with her husband to a room where, she recalled, everyone was stoned.
Cindy Pritzker also revealed the following:
1. She has a potty mouth. In response to Kurtis' question about whether this was true, she simply affirmed, "Yes." Later, she added that her family would vote on who had the foulest mouth: "I took first place."
2. She was a tomboy growing up who carried a pocket knife in her boot, she said. Well, the boot had a pocket for a knife, which she never took out. Still, "I thought I was hot stuff."
3. Cindy's might have been called "Cinderella's." Born Marian, Cindy's name came from someone who, when she was little, jokingly referred to her as "Cinderella." It's been Cindy ever since, she said.
4. Growing up, she often skipped school three days a week for White Sox games. She'd arrange for the last two periods of her schedule to be study hall, she said, then head to the ballpark.
5. She's Team Lucas. On the controversial museum filmmaker George Lucas is hoping to build on the lakefront, she's fully supportive but not optimistic. "I'm very sad that we probably will lose it," she said. "It would bring so much revenue."
abowen@tribpub.com
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