Drake Hotel (Chicago)
The Drake Hotel | |
Location | 140 E. Walton Pl., Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°54′1.67″N 87°37′27.3″W / 41.9004639°N 87.624250°W |
Built | 1920 |
Architect | Benjamin Marshall, Charles Eli Fox |
NRHP reference No. | 80001345[1] |
Added to NRHP | May 8, 1980 |
The Drake, a Hilton Hotel, 140 East Walton Place,
It has 535 bedrooms (including 74 suites), a six-room Presidential Suite, several restaurants, two large
History
Second-generation hotel magnates
At the time of its completion, the Drake provided a transition between the fashionable
The Drake served as the original studios of radio station WGN when it was renamed from WDAP in 1924.
William Drake and his wife Elizabeth lived at the hotel for several years until the family lost the property during the Great Depression.
When Francesco ("Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti") Nitto headed the Chicago Outfit in the 1930s and early 1940s, he maintained his office for a time in a suite of rooms. From the 1950s through the 1980s, the Drake Hotel maintained its status, continuing to attract several notable guests, and became even more prominent as the Magnificent Mile further developed and the residential Gold Coast saw parts of it, primarily Oak Street, developed with luxury boutiques, fine jewelry stores, and spas. Such development allowed the centrally located Drake Hotel to act as a connection of sorts for the burgeoning, prestigious areas.
Notable visitors
The Drake has been frequented by many heads of state, assorted celebrities, international personalities, and members of the European
Urban legends
According to local legend, John Drake (1826–1895) (the father of this hotel's founders) was standing with a hotel owner watching the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The owner, seeing his hotel threatened by the flames, offered to sell it for any price. Drake noticed that the wind direction was changing and made an offer and so founded the Drake Hotel. If this were true it would have occurred 49 years before the hotel's founding. The story is possibly confused with the interim New Tremont House purchase by John Drake, at the time of the Great Fire.
Additionally, the hotel features in several
In popular culture
Scenes from the movies
Afternoon Tea
Visitors to Chicago are often drawn to
Retail tenants
The Drake, a Hilton Hotel has Chanel, Georg Jensen, and Van Cleef & Arpels as retail tenants, all of which have a street-level presence on the Magnificent Mile.
Footnotes
- ^ As soon as Phelps mentions this fact, all 4 persons listening to him - who are actually part of his team - exclaim in appreciation. They even mention the excellent services the hotel offers, namely - 24-hour room service, Chauffeured cars and a fat expense account
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
- ^ List of Addresses- AreaG2 Chicago Hotels Archived July 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0226770857.
- ^ "The Drake". University of Michigan Student Projects-Chicago's Famous Hotels.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-4041-2.
- ^ https://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/19960921/ISSUE01/10006484/new-owner-check-into-drake-hotels-hot-as-landmark-is-sold-to-hilton-int-l
- ^ Bergen, Kathy (February 28, 2005). "Great Britain Based Hilton International Committed to Bringing the Grande Dame of Chicago Hotels, The Drake, into a Second Golden Era". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ hotel-online.com
- ^ "A Brief History of Chicago's Other Haunted Hotel". Chicago magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
- ^ "The 12 Best Spots Across the Country For Afternoon Tea". Town & Country. April 17, 2017. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
- ^ Tobat, Teresa (December 14, 2013). "America's best hotels for afternoon tea". USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2015.