Drake Hotel
140 E. Walton Pl.
Architect: Marshall & Fox
On January 17, 1920, Tracy and John Drake laid the cornerstone for a new hotel. It had been a decade since they opened the Blackstone and in that time the brothers had established a reputation as men who knew a thing or two about innkeeping. That was expected. Their father, John Burroughs Drake, had been one of the most respected hoteliers of the nineteenth century. It was probably no coincidence that Tracy and John chose that specific date to lay the cornerstone, considering it would have been their dad’s 94th birthday.
The location was ideal—or at least it would be soon. Lake Shore Drive curved from north to east right in front of their lot. Oak Street Beach was on the other side. Mansions radiated west and north, including the extravagant Palmer Castle. Perhaps the biggest draw for this particular location was that within four months the Boulevard Link would open, an innovative bridge that would connect the north and south sides of Chicago. Pine Street would soon be widened, paved, and renamed Michigan Avenue. When the Drake Hotel opened later that year, it had a direct line to the Blackstone, two miles to the south.
The Drake Hotel was tied to its sibling not only by street name, but also by architect. After Benjamin Marshall’s award-winning design of the Blackstone, Tracy and John hired him to design this hotel as well.
Benjamin, being a member of the Drakes’ target market, certainly understood their clientele. Travel-weary guests wouldn’t have to appear in the lobby disheveled and dirty. Before ascending a short flight of stairs, they could take a quick detour for a touch-up at the barber shop or the ladies’ hairdressing parlor. Guests could send telegrams, make phone calls, and purchase cigars, newspapers, and train tickets in the lobby. The main floor was lined with walls of Bedford stone and floors of Tennessee marble. There were fountains, skylights, wrought-bronze chandeliers, and palm trees seemingly everywhere one looked, especially in the aptly named Avenue of Palms.
Within a decade, Michigan Avenue was lined with beautiful new skyscrapers. A row of luxurious apartment homes, also designed by Benjamin Marshall, became the Drake’s neighbors to the east along Lake Shore Drive.
The hotel’s fame spread far and wide, aided in part because WDAP opened its radio studios at the Drake in 1922 after a brief stint at the Wrigley Building. Listeners as far away as the arctic circle could hear the strains of the Drake Hotel Concert Ensemble. Two years later, that station would become WGN.
Everyone wanted to stay at the Drake, including celebrities and royalty. The popularity continued despite the crash of 1929, but three years later the Drakes declared bankruptcy and lost their hotel. Benjamin Marshall and Edwin L. Brashear took over, and that same year, the architect left another indelible mark on the Drake: he created the Cape Cod Room, America’s first themed restaurant. The Drake changed hands again when Arnold Kirkeby leased it in 1937. Three years later, Kirkeby added the famous neon sign. In 1946, Benjamin and Edwin got the hotel back.
The next year, Arthur Rubloff branded Michigan Avenue as The Magnificent Mile, and ever since The Drake has been a symbol of one of Chicago’s ritziest neighborhoods.
Today, The Drake, a Hilton Hotel Chicago, remains an anchor synonymous with wealth and luxury. The property’s seen several renovations over the years, but all have attempted to maintain its original gilded splendor.