CHICAGO (AP) — Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner is officially bidding Chicago goodbye.

He started the magazine in Chicago in the early 1950s. But announced last year that Playboy was moving the bulk of its operations to Los Angeles, where Hefner has lived for decades.

In a Chicago Tribune column, Hefner reminisces about his early life in Chicago, including his college years, his time in the U.S. Army and the magazine’s beginnings. The thank-you column, published Sunday, is laced with references to Chicago landmarks.

Hefner says Chicago shaped Playboy in a way that he didn’t realize. He says the city stood out as “the most significant representation of true, post-war America.”

The 86-year-old says it’s bittersweet to watch the Playboy offices close in a city that he loves.

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