Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. was an American cosmetics and beauty parlor products firm that was founded in Chicago in 1927 as the National Mineral Company by partners Gerald Gidwitz and Louis Stein. The company began as a hair coloring manufacturer but then diversified into the field of personal care products, manufacturing Degree, among other items. Their former building, built in 1914, is located at 325 North Wells Street in the River North neighborhood. It was designed by Booth Hanson Associates. (wikipedia.org)