Drake Hotel (Chicago)

The Drake Hotel
The newly opened Drake Hotel in a 1920 picture postcard
Drake Hotel (Chicago) is located in Central Chicago
Drake Hotel (Chicago)
Drake Hotel (Chicago) is located in Illinois
Drake Hotel (Chicago)
Drake Hotel (Chicago) is located in the United States
Drake Hotel (Chicago)
Location140 E. Walton Pl.,
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates41°54′1.67″N 87°37′27.3″W / 41.9004639°N 87.624250°W / 41.9004639; -87.624250
Built1920; 104 years ago (1920)
ArchitectBenjamin Marshall, Charles Eli Fox
NRHP reference No.80001345[1]
Added to NRHPMay 8, 1980
The pink neon sign of The Drake (bottom-center-left)

The Drake, a Hilton Hotel, 140 East Walton Place,[2] Chicago, Illinois, is a luxury, full-service hotel, located downtown on the lake side of Michigan Avenue two blocks north of the John Hancock Center and a block south of Oak Street Beach at the top of the Magnificent Mile. Overlooking Lake Michigan, it was founded in 1920, and soon became one of Chicago's landmark hotels and a longtime rival of the Palmer House.

It has 535 bedrooms (including 74 suites), a six-room Presidential Suite, several restaurants, two large ballrooms, the "Palm Court" (a club-like, secluded lobby, where afternoon tea is served), and Club International (a members-only club introduced in the 1940s). Designed in the Italian Renaissance style by the firm of Marshall and Fox, the hotel's silhouette and sign contribute to the Gold Coast skyline.

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
  2. ^ List of Addresses- AreaG2 Chicago Hotels Archived July 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine