fbpx
Wikipedia

The Blackstone Hotel

January 01, 1970

For other uses, see Blackstone Hotel (disambiguation).

The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 290-foot (88 m) 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Blackstone is famous for hosting celebrity guests, including numerous U.S. presidents, for which it was known as the "Hotel of Presidents" for much of the 20th century,[2] and for contributing the term "smoke-filled room" to political parlance.[3]

Blackstone Hotel
The Blackstone Hotel in 2008
Location636 S. Michigan Avenue
(80 East Balbo Drive)
Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′24″N 87°37′29″W / 41.87333°N 87.62472°W / 41.87333; -87.62472
Built1909; 115 years ago (1909)
ArchitectBenjamin Marshall
Architectural styleSecond Empire
Beaux-Arts
NRHP reference No.86001005[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 8, 1986
Designated CLMay 29, 1998

History edit

Early years edit

The hotel and the adjacent Blackstone Theatre were built on the former site of railroad millionaire Timothy Blackstone's mansion in 1908. The owners were brothers John and Tracy Drake, sons of Blackstone's former business partner, the hotel magnate John Drake. John and Tracy Drake also developed the luxury Drake Hotel.[4][pages needed] At the time of the opening, the hotel and theatre were located at the southern edge of the Chicago Theatre District at Michigan Avenue and Hubbard Court (which was first renamed 7th Street and later Balbo Drive).[5]

The hotel opened on April 6, 1910.[6] It was named for Timothy Blackstone, a notable Chicago business executive and politician, who served as the founding president of the Union Stock Yards, president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad, and mayor of La Salle, Illinois. It was built from 1908 to 1910 and designed by Marshall and Fox.[7] The original construction was capitalized at $1.5 million (equivalent to $49.1 million in 2023)[8], including a $600,000 to $750,000 bond issue by the Drake Hotel Company.[9]

Later years edit

In the 1920s, the Drake Hotel Company undertook some financing arrangements which included extending their debt to construct the Drake Hotel. They used the Blackstone Hotel as collateral for one loan in 1927.[10] The Wall Street Crash of 1929 rippled into the hotel industry, leaving the Chicago Title and Trust Company with 30 Chicago hotels in receivership and causing the Drakes to default in 1932.[10] The hotel ended up belonging to Metropolitan Life, which held the mortgage. MetLife leased the Blackstone to hotelier Arnold Kirkeby in 1936, and Kirkeby bought the hotel outright in 1941.[11] Kirkeby sold the hotel to Sheraton Hotels in 1954 and it was renamed the Sheraton-Blackstone Hotel. The hotel endured troubles in the late 1960s, as the neighborhood surrounding it declined,[12] and Sheraton finally sold the property to local hotelier Mark Friedman on September 12, 1973, for $5 million[13] (equivalent to $34.3 million in 2023)[8], and the hotel became the Blackstone Hotel again. In 1995, the Blackstone was sold to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.[14] 1995 was also the end of Jazz Showcase's 14-year run at the hotel.[15]

On May 29, 1998, the Blackstone Hotel was designated as a Chicago Landmark.[2] The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1986. It is also a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District.[16]

Closure edit

The hotel closed in 2000, after Occupational Safety and Health Administration building inspectors found safety problems during a 1999 inspection.[17] The building's owner, Heaven on Earth Inns Corp, run by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, looked into several options before selling the property to Rubloff, Inc., which in 2001 announced plans to convert the building into condominiums priced as high as $8.5 million (equivalent to $14.6 million in 2023).[8][18] Rubloff's plans were unsuccessful due to financing difficulties and a lackluster market for buyers of Blackstone condominiums.[19] Even two rounds of price cuts were not enough to spur interest in the condo opportunities and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's non-profit organization was unable to obtain financing.[19]

Restoration edit

In 2005, it was announced that the hotel would undergo a $112 million renovation and acquisition ($22 million of the expected $112 million was the cost associated with the acquisition) with a planned opening in 2007 in a deal between Marriott International/Renaissance Hotels and Sage Hospitality, a Denver, Colorado-based company.[20] Sage had been interested in the property long before the condominium conversion was attempted.[18] The hotel's restoration process was quite lengthy because of the extensive interior damage.[18] Sage sought $22 million in tax increment financing from the Chicago Community Development Commission.[21] They eventually were approved for $18 million in tax-increment financing.[20] The final cost of the restoration came to $128 million, of which the city of Chicago provided $13.5 million for street-front improvement, including the restoration and recasting of over 10,000 pieces of decorative terra cotta, and federal historical tax credits because the building is a historical landmark. The Chicago Landmark status necessitated renovation oversight by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.[22]

 
View along Michigan Avenue outside of The Blackstone of crowds leaving Grant Park after Barack Obama's 2008 election victory speech

The newly restored Renaissance Blackstone Hotel[18] reopened to the public on March 2, 2008,[22][12] and celebrated its grand reopening on April 30, 2008, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.[23] The other parties involved in the restoration were local architect Lucien Lagrange and hotel interior design, development, and procurement firm Gettys, for design work.[20] James McHugh Construction Co. was responsible for construction.[20] The engineering firm handling the exterior renovation was Illinois-based Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.[24]

The restoration resulted in 332 rooms, 12 suites, and 13,230 square feet (1,229 m2) of meeting space. The 21-story hotel is now equipped with a health club, a business center, and a street-level cafe with outdoor seating area.[25] As part of the restorations, sconces and chandeliers were restored.[22] Many of the details, such as brass fittings, several of the statues and the original chandeliers, had been sold off. However, Sage was able to repurchase many of them on eBay and refabricate many others.[12] The primary historic facades were fully restored, including the hotel's ornate terra cotta-clad exterior.[25] All the guest-room floors were reconfigured and dramatically enlarged.[25] Some have described the restoration as "garish".[26]

Only two guest rooms were preserved during the restoration: the famous ninth-floor "smoke-filled room" and the original tenth-floor presidential suite.[12] They both retained their original floors, fireplaces, and structural shapes. However, the Presidential Suite's famed hidden passage behind the fireplace—which allowed the president to exit through the hotel's eastern stairwell unnoticed—has been converted into closet space.[22] Notable features that failed to survive the renovation were a barbershop, which has been converted to a rentable meeting room named "the barbershop", and the theater, which was converted to the Blackstone's bar and restaurant.[22]

On June 7, 2017,[27] The Blackstone was transferred from Marriott's Renaissance Hotels division to their Autograph Hotels division and returned to its historic name, The Blackstone Hotel.[28] The transition included a renovation to update the look of the hotel with a historic meets-contemporary-feel by revitalizing the soft goods of the guest rooms, meeting spaces and lobby. The hotel formerly featured a bar in the lobby called Timothy's Hutch, paying homage to the hotel's namesake, Timothy Blackstone.[29]

Hotel and politics edit

The Blackstone Hotel has been dubbed "The Hotel of Presidents".[30] It was once considered one of Chicago's finest luxury hotels, and a dozen 20th-century U.S. presidents have stayed at the hotel.[30][31] In addition, the Blackstone has also become part of Chicago's history as the city that has hosted more United States presidential nominating conventions (26) than any other two American cities,[32] a history which goes back to the 1860 Republican National Convention hosted at the Wigwam.[32] The hotel has a special room designed for use by presidents which was separated from the rest of the hotel by hollowed out walls in which the Secret Service could operate. In 1920, Warren G. Harding was selected as the Republican candidate for the presidency at the Blackstone.[31] Although the convention was being held at the Chicago Coliseum, a group of Republican leaders met at the Blackstone on the night of June 11 to come to a consensus. When Raymond Clapper of United Press reported on the decision-making process, the reporter stated it had been made "in a smoke-filled room".[33][34] The phrase entered American political parlance to denote a political process which is not open to scrutiny.[31]

In addition, the Blackstone is where Franklin Delano Roosevelt's third-term Democratic presidential nomination was forged in 1940, where Harry S. Truman stayed when he received the 1944 Democratic vice presidential nomination and where Dwight D. Eisenhower heard the news of his first-ballot 1952 Republican presidential nomination. In all, guests have included at least 12 U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter.[7] During Kennedy's visit he was informed of the Cuban Missile Crisis.[35]

Architecture edit

The Blackstone Hotel was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall, of Marshall and Fox, in 1909.[11] Sources vary as to the precise style in which Marshall designed the building.[2][11][36][37] According to the Landmarks Division of the City of Chicago's Department of Planning and Development, the hotel's exterior and interior are considered an excellent example of neoclassical Beaux-Arts architecture;[2] the nomination form for the building's listing on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places classifies the structure as distinctly Second Empire.[11] However, the two styles are related, and the Blackstone Hotel demonstrates elements from both schools. The design was influenced by Marshall's trip to Paris, after which he completed the hotel.[11]

The Blackstone is a 22-floor rectangular structure and its structural steel frame is cased in tile and plaster fireproofing. On the exterior south and east (front) elevations is a one-story base of pink granite,[11] with high arched openings; it supports the red brick- and terra cotta-trimmed building shaft.[38] Above the granite base are four stories of white, glazed terra cotta. The large windows of the second and third floor, which once poured natural light into the lobby, ballroom, and restaurants, had mostly been covered for the Mayfair Theatre which was the home of the Chicago production of Shear Madness for 17 years from September 22, 1982, to November 11, 1999.[39] The majority of the building rises as a 12-story shaft of red brick dotted with white, terra cotta window surrounds; above this section is a belt course of terra cotta and two stories of red brick. Above this, the original design included an intermediate terra cotta cornice topped by a cast-iron railing. This has been removed and replaced with red brick and white glazed brick, flush with the rest of the building.[11] The mansard roof was originally decorated with small spires around the perimeter, and 2 very tall flagpoles.[7]

In popular culture edit

In addition to its celebrity guests and its contributions to political parlance, the Blackstone has a place in popular culture. Among its uses in cinema, it hosted the banquet where Al Capone smashes a guest's head with a baseball bat in the Brian De Palma film The Untouchables, a party in The Hudsucker Proxy, and Tom Cruise's pre-pool tourney stay in The Color of Money.[36][40] Also, the 1996–2000 television series Early Edition was set in this building, featuring a man (Kyle Chandler) who lives in the hotel and receives the newspaper a day in advance.[41]

The hotel is referenced as part of a major plot point in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and the accompanying film.[42]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d . City of Chicago Dept. of Pl. and Devpmt., Landmarks Div. 2003. Archived from the original on April 10, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  3. ^ "Smoke-Filled Room". Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2007.
  4. ^ Berger 1992.
  5. ^ . The Theatre School at DePaul University. 2007. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  6. ^ "Grand Opening Celebration for The Blackstone, A Renaissance Hotel". 24-7 Press Release Newswire (Press release). Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c . Emporis. 2007. Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  8. ^ a b c 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  9. ^ Berger 1992, p. 155.
  10. ^ a b Berger 1992, p. 159.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g (PDF). HAARGIS Database. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 14, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2007.
  12. ^ a b c d Sharoff, Robert (February 13, 2008). "A Chicago Hotel's New Life in a Rising Area". The New York Times. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  13. ^ The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois. September 12, 1973, p.1
  14. ^ "Downtown Chicago Hotel". The Blackstone.
  15. ^ Reich, Howard (February 6, 1995). "New Blackstone Owners' Terms Oust 'Showcase'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  16. ^ (PDF). Commission on Chicago Landmarks. October 6, 1993. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  17. ^ (Press release). Occupational Safety & Health Administration. May 9, 2000. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  18. ^ a b c d Gallun, Alby (September 23, 2004). "Rehab ahead for Blackstone Hotel". Chicago Business. Crain's Communication, Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  19. ^ a b "Blackstone conversion stalls". Chicago Business. Crain's. October 27, 2002. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2007.
  20. ^ a b c d Gallun, Alby (June 14, 2005). . Chicago Business. Crain's Communication, Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  21. ^ Gallun, Alby (March 11, 2005). . Chicago Business. Crain's Communication, Inc. Archived from the original on August 3, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  22. ^ a b c d e Bradwell, Matthew C. K. (March 17, 2008). "Historic hotel reopens after $128 million makeover". Chi Town Daily News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  23. ^ "Grand Opening Celebration for the Blackstone, A Renaissance Hotel" (Press release). Chicago, IL. May 11, 2008.
  24. ^ Sulski, Jim (February 2007). . Midwest Construction. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.
  25. ^ a b c "An Artful Renaissance for Chicago's Blackstone: Reclaiming the Architecture and the Memories with a Contemporary Twist" (Press release). 24-7 Press Release.com. January 24, 2008. Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  26. ^ Kamin, Blair (March 9, 2008). . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  27. ^ "The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago Joins Autograph Collection". Hotel News Resource. June 7, 2017.
  28. ^ "Chicago's Historic Blackstone Hotel Joins Autograph Collection Hotels Following Multi-Million Dollar Renovation" (Press release). May 12, 2017.
  29. ^ "Downtown Chicago Luxury Hotel". The Blackstone.
  30. ^ a b . City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  31. ^ a b c Allegrini, Robert V. (2005). Chicago's Grand Hotels. Arcadia Publishing. p. 92. ISBN 0-7385-3954-6.
  32. ^ a b Sautter, R. Craig (2005). "Political Conventions". The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago. Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved March 28, 2007.
  33. ^ Morris, Joe Alex (1957). "Deadline Every Minute The Story Of The United Press". Doubleday & Company.
  34. ^ Vaughn, Stephen L. (2008). Encyclopedia of American Journalism. CTC Press. ISBN 9780203942161.
  35. ^ Jeffers, Glenn (March 27, 2008). . Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved April 9, 2008.
  36. ^ a b Mougey, Paul (November 3, 2003). . USA Today. Archived from the original on May 23, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  37. ^ McBrien, Judith Paine. Pocket Guide to Chicago Architecture, (Google Books), 2004, W. W. Norton & Company, p. 11, (ISBN 0-393-73155-3). Retrieved June 16, 2007.
  38. ^ Steiner, Frances H. (1998). The Architecture of Chicago's Loop. The Sigma Press. p. 124. ISBN 0-9667259-0-5.
  39. ^ Madhani, Aamer. "Blackstone Closure Drops the Curtain on 'Madness'", Chicago Tribune, November 14, 1999. Retrieved December 30, 2021
  40. ^ . The Worldwide Guide To Movie Locations. September 18, 2008. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  41. ^ Carlton, Hayley. . Near West Gazette. Archived from the original on June 21, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  42. ^ Tanzilo, Bobby (May 30, 2023). . OnMilwaukee. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023.

Works Cited edit

  • Berger, Miles L. (1992). They Built Chicago: Entrepreneurs Who Shaped a Great City's Architecture. Chicago: Bonus Books. ISBN 0-929387-76-7.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackstone Hotel (Chicago, Illinois).
  • Official website

January 01, 1970
blackstone, hotel, other, uses, blackstone, hotel, disambiguation, historic, foot, story, hotel, corner, michigan, avenue, balbo, drive, michigan, boulevard, historic, district, loop, community, area, chicago, illinois, built, between, 1908, 1910, national, re. For other uses see Blackstone Hotel disambiguation The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 290 foot 88 m 21 story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago Illinois Built between 1908 and 1910 it is on the National Register of Historic Places The Blackstone is famous for hosting celebrity guests including numerous U S presidents for which it was known as the Hotel of Presidents for much of the 20th century 2 and for contributing the term smoke filled room to political parlance 3 Blackstone HotelU S National Register of Historic PlacesChicago LandmarkThe Blackstone Hotel in 2008Location636 S Michigan Avenue 80 East Balbo Drive Chicago IllinoisCoordinates41 52 24 N 87 37 29 W 41 87333 N 87 62472 W 41 87333 87 62472Built1909 115 years ago 1909 ArchitectBenjamin MarshallArchitectural styleSecond EmpireBeaux ArtsNRHP reference No 86001005 1 Significant datesAdded to NRHPMay 8 1986Designated CLMay 29 1998 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 Later years 1 3 Closure 1 4 Restoration 2 Hotel and politics 3 Architecture 4 In popular culture 5 See also 6 References 7 Works Cited 8 External linksHistory editEarly years edit The hotel and the adjacent Blackstone Theatre were built on the former site of railroad millionaire Timothy Blackstone s mansion in 1908 The owners were brothers John and Tracy Drake sons of Blackstone s former business partner the hotel magnate John Drake John and Tracy Drake also developed the luxury Drake Hotel 4 pages needed At the time of the opening the hotel and theatre were located at the southern edge of the Chicago Theatre District at Michigan Avenue and Hubbard Court which was first renamed 7th Street and later Balbo Drive 5 The hotel opened on April 6 1910 6 It was named for Timothy Blackstone a notable Chicago business executive and politician who served as the founding president of the Union Stock Yards president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad and mayor of La Salle Illinois It was built from 1908 to 1910 and designed by Marshall and Fox 7 The original construction was capitalized at 1 5 million equivalent to 49 1 million in 2023 8 including a 600 000 to 750 000 bond issue by the Drake Hotel Company 9 Later years edit In the 1920s the Drake Hotel Company undertook some financing arrangements which included extending their debt to construct the Drake Hotel They used the Blackstone Hotel as collateral for one loan in 1927 10 The Wall Street Crash of 1929 rippled into the hotel industry leaving the Chicago Title and Trust Company with 30 Chicago hotels in receivership and causing the Drakes to default in 1932 10 The hotel ended up belonging to Metropolitan Life which held the mortgage MetLife leased the Blackstone to hotelier Arnold Kirkeby in 1936 and Kirkeby bought the hotel outright in 1941 11 Kirkeby sold the hotel to Sheraton Hotels in 1954 and it was renamed the Sheraton Blackstone Hotel The hotel endured troubles in the late 1960s as the neighborhood surrounding it declined 12 and Sheraton finally sold the property to local hotelier Mark Friedman on September 12 1973 for 5 million 13 equivalent to 34 3 million in 2023 8 and the hotel became the Blackstone Hotel again In 1995 the Blackstone was sold to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 14 1995 was also the end of Jazz Showcase s 14 year run at the hotel 15 On May 29 1998 the Blackstone Hotel was designated as a Chicago Landmark 2 The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 8 1986 It is also a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District 16 Closure edit The hotel closed in 2000 after Occupational Safety and Health Administration building inspectors found safety problems during a 1999 inspection 17 The building s owner Heaven on Earth Inns Corp run by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi looked into several options before selling the property to Rubloff Inc which in 2001 announced plans to convert the building into condominiums priced as high as 8 5 million equivalent to 14 6 million in 2023 8 18 Rubloff s plans were unsuccessful due to financing difficulties and a lackluster market for buyers of Blackstone condominiums 19 Even two rounds of price cuts were not enough to spur interest in the condo opportunities and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi s non profit organization was unable to obtain financing 19 Restoration edit In 2005 it was announced that the hotel would undergo a 112 million renovation and acquisition 22 million of the expected 112 million was the cost associated with the acquisition with a planned opening in 2007 in a deal between Marriott International Renaissance Hotels and Sage Hospitality a Denver Colorado based company 20 Sage had been interested in the property long before the condominium conversion was attempted 18 The hotel s restoration process was quite lengthy because of the extensive interior damage 18 Sage sought 22 million in tax increment financing from the Chicago Community Development Commission 21 They eventually were approved for 18 million in tax increment financing 20 The final cost of the restoration came to 128 million of which the city of Chicago provided 13 5 million for street front improvement including the restoration and recasting of over 10 000 pieces of decorative terra cotta and federal historical tax credits because the building is a historical landmark The Chicago Landmark status necessitated renovation oversight by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks 22 nbsp View along Michigan Avenue outside of The Blackstone of crowds leaving Grant Park after Barack Obama s 2008 election victory speech The newly restored Renaissance Blackstone Hotel 18 reopened to the public on March 2 2008 22 12 and celebrated its grand reopening on April 30 2008 with a ribbon cutting ceremony 23 The other parties involved in the restoration were local architect Lucien Lagrange and hotel interior design development and procurement firm Gettys for design work 20 James McHugh Construction Co was responsible for construction 20 The engineering firm handling the exterior renovation was Illinois based Wiss Janney Elstner Associates Inc 24 The restoration resulted in 332 rooms 12 suites and 13 230 square feet 1 229 m2 of meeting space The 21 story hotel is now equipped with a health club a business center and a street level cafe with outdoor seating area 25 As part of the restorations sconces and chandeliers were restored 22 Many of the details such as brass fittings several of the statues and the original chandeliers had been sold off However Sage was able to repurchase many of them on eBay and refabricate many others 12 The primary historic facades were fully restored including the hotel s ornate terra cotta clad exterior 25 All the guest room floors were reconfigured and dramatically enlarged 25 Some have described the restoration as garish 26 Only two guest rooms were preserved during the restoration the famous ninth floor smoke filled room and the original tenth floor presidential suite 12 They both retained their original floors fireplaces and structural shapes However the Presidential Suite s famed hidden passage behind the fireplace which allowed the president to exit through the hotel s eastern stairwell unnoticed has been converted into closet space 22 Notable features that failed to survive the renovation were a barbershop which has been converted to a rentable meeting room named the barbershop and the theater which was converted to the Blackstone s bar and restaurant 22 On June 7 2017 27 The Blackstone was transferred from Marriott s Renaissance Hotels division to their Autograph Hotels division and returned to its historic name The Blackstone Hotel 28 The transition included a renovation to update the look of the hotel with a historic meets contemporary feel by revitalizing the soft goods of the guest rooms meeting spaces and lobby The hotel formerly featured a bar in the lobby called Timothy s Hutch paying homage to the hotel s namesake Timothy Blackstone 29 Hotel and politics editThe Blackstone Hotel has been dubbed The Hotel of Presidents 30 It was once considered one of Chicago s finest luxury hotels and a dozen 20th century U S presidents have stayed at the hotel 30 31 In addition the Blackstone has also become part of Chicago s history as the city that has hosted more United States presidential nominating conventions 26 than any other two American cities 32 a history which goes back to the 1860 Republican National Convention hosted at the Wigwam 32 The hotel has a special room designed for use by presidents which was separated from the rest of the hotel by hollowed out walls in which the Secret Service could operate In 1920 Warren G Harding was selected as the Republican candidate for the presidency at the Blackstone 31 Although the convention was being held at the Chicago Coliseum a group of Republican leaders met at the Blackstone on the night of June 11 to come to a consensus When Raymond Clapper of United Press reported on the decision making process the reporter stated it had been made in a smoke filled room 33 34 The phrase entered American political parlance to denote a political process which is not open to scrutiny 31 In addition the Blackstone is where Franklin Delano Roosevelt s third term Democratic presidential nomination was forged in 1940 where Harry S Truman stayed when he received the 1944 Democratic vice presidential nomination and where Dwight D Eisenhower heard the news of his first ballot 1952 Republican presidential nomination In all guests have included at least 12 U S presidents Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Dwight Eisenhower John F Kennedy Richard Nixon and Jimmy Carter 7 During Kennedy s visit he was informed of the Cuban Missile Crisis 35 Architecture editThe Blackstone Hotel was designed by architect Benjamin Marshall of Marshall and Fox in 1909 11 Sources vary as to the precise style in which Marshall designed the building 2 11 36 37 According to the Landmarks Division of the City of Chicago s Department of Planning and Development the hotel s exterior and interior are considered an excellent example of neoclassical Beaux Arts architecture 2 the nomination form for the building s listing on the U S National Register of Historic Places classifies the structure as distinctly Second Empire 11 However the two styles are related and the Blackstone Hotel demonstrates elements from both schools The design was influenced by Marshall s trip to Paris after which he completed the hotel 11 The Blackstone is a 22 floor rectangular structure and its structural steel frame is cased in tile and plaster fireproofing On the exterior south and east front elevations is a one story base of pink granite 11 with high arched openings it supports the red brick and terra cotta trimmed building shaft 38 Above the granite base are four stories of white glazed terra cotta The large windows of the second and third floor which once poured natural light into the lobby ballroom and restaurants had mostly been covered for the Mayfair Theatre which was the home of the Chicago production of Shear Madness for 17 years from September 22 1982 to November 11 1999 39 The majority of the building rises as a 12 story shaft of red brick dotted with white terra cotta window surrounds above this section is a belt course of terra cotta and two stories of red brick Above this the original design included an intermediate terra cotta cornice topped by a cast iron railing This has been removed and replaced with red brick and white glazed brick flush with the rest of the building 11 The mansard roof was originally decorated with small spires around the perimeter and 2 very tall flagpoles 7 In popular culture editIn addition to its celebrity guests and its contributions to political parlance the Blackstone has a place in popular culture Among its uses in cinema it hosted the banquet where Al Capone smashes a guest s head with a baseball bat in the Brian De Palma film The Untouchables a party in The Hudsucker Proxy and Tom Cruise s pre pool tourney stay in The Color of Money 36 40 Also the 1996 2000 television series Early Edition was set in this building featuring a man Kyle Chandler who lives in the hotel and receives the newspaper a day in advance 41 The hotel is referenced as part of a major plot point in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and the accompanying film 42 See also edit nbsp Hotels portal Blackstone Library Chicago architectureReferences edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service January 23 2007 a b c d Blackstone Hotel City of Chicago Dept of Pl and Devpmt Landmarks Div 2003 Archived from the original on April 10 2007 Retrieved May 25 2007 Smoke Filled Room Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago Chicago Historical Society 2005 Retrieved May 27 2007 Berger 1992 A History of the Merle Reskin Theatre The Theatre School at DePaul University 2007 Archived from the original on May 29 2011 Retrieved May 25 2007 Grand Opening Celebration for The Blackstone A Renaissance Hotel 24 7 Press Release Newswire Press release Retrieved February 21 2021 a b c The Blackstone Emporis 2007 Archived from the original on November 10 2006 Retrieved May 25 2007 a b c 1634 1699 McCusker J J 1997 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States Addenda et Corrigenda PDF American Antiquarian Society 1700 1799 McCusker J J 1992 How Much Is That in Real Money A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States PDF American Antiquarian Society 1800 present Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Price Index estimate 1800 Retrieved February 29 2024 Berger 1992 p 155 a b Berger 1992 p 159 a b c d e f g The Blackstone Hotel PDF HAARGIS Database Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Archived from the original PDF on January 14 2016 Retrieved June 15 2007 a b c d Sharoff Robert February 13 2008 A Chicago Hotel s New Life in a Rising Area The New York Times Retrieved March 11 2008 The Pantagraph from Bloomington Illinois September 12 1973 p 1 Downtown Chicago Hotel The Blackstone Reich Howard February 6 1995 New Blackstone Owners Terms Oust Showcase Chicago Tribune Retrieved December 30 2021 Historic Michigan Boulevard District PDF Commission on Chicago Landmarks October 6 1993 Archived from the original PDF on December 22 2015 Retrieved March 19 2024 OSHA issues citations to Heaven On Earth Inns Inc for alleged workplace safety violations Press release Occupational Safety amp Health Administration May 9 2000 Archived from the original on October 11 2008 Retrieved April 9 2008 a b c d Gallun Alby September 23 2004 Rehab ahead for Blackstone Hotel Chicago Business Crain s Communication Inc Archived from the original on August 3 2009 Retrieved May 25 2007 a b Blackstone conversion stalls Chicago Business Crain s October 27 2002 Archived from the original on August 3 2009 Retrieved May 25 2007 a b c d Gallun Alby June 14 2005 CDC backs 18 million for Blackstone Chicago Business Crain s Communication Inc Archived from the original on August 3 2009 Retrieved April 7 2008 Gallun Alby March 11 2005 Sage wants TIF for Blackstone rehab Chicago Business Crain s Communication Inc Archived from the original on August 3 2009 Retrieved April 7 2008 a b c d e Bradwell Matthew C K March 17 2008 Historic hotel reopens after 128 million makeover Chi Town Daily News Archived from the original on March 18 2008 Retrieved April 9 2008 Grand Opening Celebration for the Blackstone A Renaissance Hotel Press release Chicago IL May 11 2008 Sulski Jim February 2007 Chicago s Blackstone Hotel Midwest Construction Archived from the original on October 7 2008 a b c An Artful Renaissance for Chicago s Blackstone Reclaiming the Architecture and the Memories with a Contemporary Twist Press release 24 7 Press Release com January 24 2008 Retrieved March 11 2008 Kamin Blair March 9 2008 Garish accents mar Blackstone s grand restoration Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on August 4 2009 Retrieved April 9 2008 The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago Joins Autograph Collection Hotel News Resource June 7 2017 Chicago s Historic Blackstone Hotel Joins Autograph Collection Hotels Following Multi Million Dollar Renovation Press release May 12 2017 Downtown Chicago Luxury Hotel The Blackstone a b Site of the Sauganash Hotel Wigwam City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development Landmarks Division Archived from the original on May 21 2007 Retrieved March 28 2007 a b c Allegrini Robert V 2005 Chicago s Grand Hotels Arcadia Publishing p 92 ISBN 0 7385 3954 6 a b Sautter R Craig 2005 Political Conventions The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago Chicago Historical Society Retrieved March 28 2007 Morris Joe Alex 1957 Deadline Every Minute The Story Of The United Press Doubleday amp Company Vaughn Stephen L 2008 Encyclopedia of American Journalism CTC Press ISBN 9780203942161 Jeffers Glenn March 27 2008 A first look The Blackstone Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on June 21 2008 Retrieved April 9 2008 a b Mougey Paul November 3 2003 Chicago s cinematic allure USA Today Archived from the original on May 23 2011 Retrieved June 16 2007 McBrien Judith Paine Pocket Guide to Chicago Architecture Google Books 2004 W W Norton amp Company p 11 ISBN 0 393 73155 3 Retrieved June 16 2007 Steiner Frances H 1998 The Architecture of Chicago s Loop The Sigma Press p 124 ISBN 0 9667259 0 5 Madhani Aamer Blackstone Closure Drops the Curtain on Madness Chicago Tribune November 14 1999 Retrieved December 30 2021 The Untouchables filming locations The Worldwide Guide To Movie Locations September 18 2008 Archived from the original on November 12 2013 Retrieved October 26 2008 Carlton Hayley Grant Park street wall surrounding buildings examined at GPAC meeting Near West Gazette Archived from the original on June 21 2008 Retrieved April 7 2008 Tanzilo Bobby May 30 2023 Urban spelunking Chicago s legendary Blackstone Hotel OnMilwaukee Archived from the original on May 30 2023 Works Cited editBerger Miles L 1992 They Built Chicago Entrepreneurs Who Shaped a Great City s Architecture Chicago Bonus Books ISBN 0 929387 76 7 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blackstone Hotel Chicago Illinois Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Blackstone Hotel amp oldid 1217748824, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.