Architecturally imposing, historically rich, and socially important, Chicagos magnificent grand hotels have fascinated generations of Chicagoans and have pleased generations of guests. The Palmer House Hilton, The Drake, and The Hilton Chicago have come to represent a collective formal living room for Chicago, where the citys most important visitors are accommodated, entertained, and made aware of the grandeur and sophistication of their hosts hometown. They were built to inspire aweand still do for anyone fortunate enough to find themselves in the lobby of The Palmer House Hilton, The Palm Court of The Drake, or the Grand Ballroom of The Hilton Chicago. Many of the most famous locales in these classic structures have been transformed or have disappeared altogether due to changing times. Gone, for example, is The Hilton Chicagos famous rooftop miniature golf course and Boulevard Room supper club, complete with its ice shows. Gone, too, is The Drakes legendary supper club, the Camellia House. While the Empire Room of The Palmer House Hilton continues to exist as an function room, it no longer reverberates with the sound of Liberaces piano or Jimmy Durantes vocals, as it did when it was the citys premier entertainment facility. Chicagos Grand Hotels chronicles over 100 years of Chicago hotel history through vivid photographs and memorabilia from the archives of The Palmer House Hilton, The Drake, and The Hilton Chicago. It tells the compelling story of the visionary architects and hoteliers who brought these hotels to life and made them structural testaments to the warmth of midwestern hospitality.

Presents a pictorial history of Chicago's grand hotels, including the Palmer House, the Drake, and the Conrad Hilton Hotel.

From their rise in the early 19th century, Chicagos hotels were bustling centers of city life. The Great Fire in October 1871 destroyed all of that. But it also gave the city an opportunity to begin again with a fresh palette of architectural ideas. By the Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago had built over 1,400 hotels and lodging houses, establishing it as the nations prime destination for business, conventions, and tourism. Early Chicago Hotels presents more than 200 postcards, inviting the reader to tour the stunning exterior and dazzling interior designs of Chicagos architects. The citys fi rst-class hotels, resorts, and lesser-known second-class hotelsmany of which are long goneare featured. These early hotels set the stage for the great palace hotels of the 1920s. From their rise in the early 19th century, Chicagos hotels were bustling centers of city life. The Great Fire in October 1871 destroyed all of that. But it also gave the city an opportunity to begin again with a fresh palette of architectural ideas. By the Worlds Columbian Exposition of 1893, Chicago had built over 1,400 hotels and lodging houses, establishing it as the nations prime destination for business, conventions, and tourism. Early Chicago Hotels presents more than 200 postcards, inviting the reader to tour the stunning exterior and dazzling interior designs of Chicagos architects. The citys fi rst-class hotels, resorts, and lesser-known second-class hotelsmany of which are long goneare featured. These early hotels set the stage for the great palace hotels of the 1920s.

Ever since Chicago's 1873 World's Columbian Exposition, the city has been welcoming visitors with unparalleled gusto. Chicago offers delicious cuisine, great sports teams, inviting museums, elegant shopping, diverse neighborhoods--and some of the most opulent hotels in the country. A Chicago Tradition: Hotels and Hospitality is a tour of The Palmer House, The Drake, The Stevens, and one of the town's newest hotels, The Peninsula, and its restaurants. The Palmer House was built in 1871, only to burn down thirteen days later in the Great Fire. Two years later it was rebuilt as America's first fully fireproofed hotel, and the first hotel in Chicago to have electric lights. Every room had a phone, and elevators were considered a "perpendicular railroad." The Palmer House makes one of the best chocolate fudge brownies going. The Drake burst on the scene on December 31, 1920, as a magnificent resort hotel, right on Lake Michigan, and for years attracted top celebrities to its Gold Coast Room. The famous Cape Cod restaurant is known for its Bookbinder Soup. The Stevens, now the Hilton Chicago, opened in May 1927, with 3,000 rooms with baths, an in-house hospital, a five-lane bowling alley, a private library, and a host of other amenities unusual for the time. Renovated in 1984, it is a delightful fusion of historic luxury and contemporary amenities, including its Baked Alaska. The Peninsula opened in 2001 and is already rated the number one hotel in America by Zagat's. This glamorous, lavish sanctuary offers a $485,000 weekend for couples, along with delicious tomato soup. Joan Greene presents many more historical details and asides, providing a wonderful accompaniment to the images-and recipes-of four gracious, inviting, and grand hotels in America's heartland. The Chicago Cultural Center Foundation. 64 pages with smyth-sewn casebound binding and jacket. Size: 5 3/4 x 6 5/8 in. Includes 41 black-and-white and color historic and contemporary images; and 4 recipes.

From its beginnings as the humble inn, the hotel has undergone enormous changes over the centuries. Elaine Denby charts the development of the Grand Hotel and how it has kept pace with technological innovations.