In a Crain’s Chicago Business article yesterday, Shia Kapos reported “Spiffed-up Cape Cod in Upstream Swim.” The Cape Cod Room of the legendary Drake Hotel has, indeed, re-opened, but based on the article there seems only to be guarded enthusiasm and restrained optimism. Well, I, for one, am ecstatic! The last time I visited the restaurant I had the best bread pudding I’ve ever tasted. (Oh, please tell me it is still on the menu!) And high tea in the Palm Court of The Drake is always a joy. Personally, I think that shopping the Magnificent Mile without having tea at The Drake is, well, just not the Chicago way. Yes, I'm "old school..."
So, what does this have to do with Chicago history other than it being a vintage luxury hotel, gangster Frank Nitti had an office in the hotel and Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe carved their initials in the Cape Cod Room bar?
Tracy Drake and his brother John Drake purchased the property for the hotel in 1916 from the estate of Potter Palmer. Construction began in 1918, and the hotel opened in 1920. The picture above is a postcard printed at its opening. Since that day, the sumptuous hotel has been the stop-over of choice for visiting aristocracy, celebrities, politicians and pretty much anyone who was anybody and the building was registered with the US National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The architectural firm that designed The Drake was Marshall and Fox: Benjamin Henry Marshall (1874-1940) and Charles Eli Fox (1870-1926). Before the firm was established in 1905, Benjamin Marshall had his own practice beginning in 1902. One of his first projects - here it comes - was the The Iroquois Theater located at 24-28 West Randolph. The theater (now the location of the Oriental Theater) opened on November 23rd, 1903 and burned 37 days later taking hundreds of souls, mostly women and children.
I am delighted that the Cape Cod Room of The Drake Hotel has reopened. It is one of my favorite places in Chicago. But,I could not help but be reminded of the hotel's link to one of Chicago's most tragic disasters. John McCutcheon captured the feeling of loss by a family in the cartoon titled, "His Sunday Dinner After the Iroquois Fire." Note the empty chairs.
I've taken this opportunity to provide a new set of links for the Iroquois Theater Fire at Chicago History Online.
For additional reading:
Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903
Chicago Death Trap: The Iroquois Theatre Fire of 1903
Chicago's Grand Hotels: The Palmer House, The Drake, and The Hilton Chicago (IL)
From Time Magazine, June 19, 1933: Chicago Hotels
3 comments:
Some day I'm going to have to spend time in Chicago, and then this will all begin to fall into place.
By the way, Chicago makes an appearance near the beginning of Thomas Pynchon's forever-long, newest novel, Against the Day, which I'm still reading. It's set at the time of the Columbian Exhibition, though as Pynchon he has no problem creating a whole fleet of airships to go with it.
Thanks for stopping by, Mark. When you mentioned the Pynchon book on your blog I immediately placed it on my wishlist. Not sure when I'll get the courage to tackle it, though. Hope you do get to visit Chicago one day. It's rich history is very visible.
The Columbian Exposition part of Pynchon's AGAINST THE DAY (basically the first hundred pages) was really wonderful, I thought. After the action left Chicago, though, I thought the book bogged down in obscure Pynchonian hijinks. I gave up after about 150 pages. But those first pages about the fair are worth the price of admission.
GaryK
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