The Drake, Hilton Hotel, 140 East Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois, is a full-service luxury hotel, located downtown on the lake side of Michigan Avenue two blocks north of John Hancock Center and one block south of Oak Street Beach in the peak of the Magnificent Mile. Overlooking Lake Michigan, founded in 1920, was designed in Italian Renaissance style by the Marshall and Fox firms, and soon became one of Chicago's landmark hotels, an old rival of Palmer House. It has 535 bedrooms (including 74 suites), six-room Presidential Suite, several restaurants, two large ballrooms, "Palm Court" (a quiet lobby, like a club), and Club International (member-only clubs introduced in the 1940s). Known for its silhouette and sign contributions at faÃÆ'§ade lake (Oak Street) make it to the Gold Coast skyline.
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The second-generation hotel character Tracy Drake and John Drake (1872-1964) acquired the property from the Potter Palmer plantation in 1916. The building was financed by a family friend syndicate including members of the Palmer family, Armor, Swift, and McCormick. and hotel architects, Benjamin Marshall and Charles Fox. Including land, construction, and furniture, Drake is worth $ 10,000,000, which in current dollars is approximately $ 120 million.
Upon completion, Drake provides a transition between the fashionable residential area of ​​Gold Coast and the new North Michigan Avenue. The main entrance of Walton Place avoids commotion on commercial highways and increases vehicle access. The Drake brothers uphold the reputation of the family as the primary focus of social, commercial, and political life in Chicago with the ownership and management of the two most prominent hotels in the city as the book of Michigan Avenue. (See Blackstone Hotel.)
Drake served as the original studio of WGN radio station when his name was changed from WDAP in 1924.
William Drake and his wife Elizabeth stayed at the hotel for several years until the family lost property during the Great Depression.
When Francesco ("Frank 'The Enforcer' Nitti") Nitto led the Chicago Outfit in the 1930s and early 1940s, he kept his office for a while in the suite of rooms. From the 1950s to the 1980s, Drake Hotel retained its status, continued to attract some famous guests, and became more prominent when the Magnificent Mile was further developed and the Gold Coast housing spotted parts of it, especially Oak Street, developed with fancy boutiques, jewelry stores, and spas. Such developments allow the central Drake Hotel to act as a hub for the developing and prestigious areas.
Hilton International purchased the property in 1996 and established an ongoing $ 45 million renovation program in 1998 that lasted until 2003. In 2005 and 2006, the owners added a fitness center, executive conference center, and new furniture in all guest rooms with cost $ 15 million. In 2005, Hilton Hotels Corporation acquired Hilton International, and The Drake became part of Hilton Hotels Corporation and The Hilton Family of Hotels.
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Famous visitors
Drake is frequented by many heads of state, various celebrities, international figures, and members of the European aristocracy (partly as long-term residents) since its opening in 1920. Important guests include Winston Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt, President Herbert Hoover, Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Prince Charles and Diana, Miss Wales (although separate), Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland, Hugh Hefner, Owe Lundberg, Walt Disney, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Charles Lindbergh, Marchese and Marchesa Chiaramonte-Ragusa. Prince Felix Yusupov, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, King Hussein of Jordan, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Julia Roberts. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe carved their initials into the wooden bar of the Cape Cod Room during the visit, which is still visible today. Diana, Princess of Wales, stayed at the Drake Hotel during her only visit to Chicago in 1996, one year before her death.
Urban legend
According to local legend, John Drake (1826-1895) (father of the founder of this hotel) was standing with the hotel owner watching the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. The owner, seeing his hotel threatened by fire, offered to sell it for any price. Drake notices that the wind direction changes and makes an offer and sets up the Drake Hotel. If this is true, it will happen 49 years before the establishment of the hotel. This story may be confusing with the temporary home purchase of Tremont House by John Drake, at the time of the Great Fire.
In popular culture
Scenes from the movie Risky Business Wedding My Friend , Hero , What Women Want , Continental Divide , The Flag of Our Father , Wicker Park , Mission: Impossible , and Carol is filmed or at least set in hotel. Mission: Impossible mentions the character Jon Voight has lived there shortly before the movie. Agen X the first season partially revolves around the photo that Vice President Sharon Stone received from her late husband having an affair at Drake. In an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm , the wrong character claimed that Cobb salad was found in the hotel.
Afternoon Tea
Visitors to Chicago are often attracted to Tea Afternoon, a tradition dating from 1840. The Japanese consort, Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth II have all participated in the custom. Tea is held at Palm Court, which is all white. The hotel has a special blend of "Palm Court", made from four teas: Indian Assam, chocolate notes from Keemun Cina, Ceylon, and Formosa Oolong. Live harp music takes place Wednesday through Sunday. In 2013, USA Today rated the Drake Hotel as one of the best hotels for afternoon tea in the country.
Retail tenants
The Drake, Hilton Hotel has Chanel, Georg Jensen, and Van Cleef & amp; Arpels as a retail tenant, all of whom have a street-level presence on the Magnificent Mile.
References
External links
- Official website
- Hotel Reviews
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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