London House (Chicago)

View from the London House rooftop bar

The London House was a jazz club and restaurant in Chicago located at the corner of Wacker Drive and Michigan Avenue, in the London Guaranty and Accident Company Building, 360 N. Michigan Ave.[1] It was one of the foremost jazz clubs in the country, once home to successful jazz artists including Oscar Peterson, Ramsey Lewis, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Marian McPartland, Dinah Washington, Cannonball Adderley, Erroll Garner, Ahmad Jamal, Nancy Wilson, Barbara Carroll and Bobby Short. On the occasion of its 20th anniversary in November 1966, Frank Sinatra Jr. headlined the club in his Chicago debut.[2]

Renovated in 1946 by George and Oscar Marienthal, the club was crafted from the original Fort Dearborn Grill. Known as a "famed dining spot" the club was revamped in 1955 to include jazz music and stay open until 4 A.M. rather than be a strictly dining establishment that closed at 10 P.M.[2] The club was purchased in 1969 by Art's and Leisure Co. and sold to Paul Wimmer in 1971. After jazz had finally waned as popular music, losing out to rock and roll, The London House closed in January, 1975. Jerry Dambra, the managing partner from 1971-175 famously said ,"I was a lucky man to close the two greatest clubs in the world." (He was also the managing partner at Mister Kelly's) Ramsey Lewis was the last performer who played at London House, 1/12/1975. The London House was turned into a Burger King in the 1970s.

The LondonHouse Hotel opened in the building in 2016.

  1. ^ Demlinger, Sandor; Steiner, John (11 August 2003). Destination Chicago jazz. Arcadia Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7385-2305-7. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Show to Mark Marienthal's London House's 20th Year". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. November 5, 1966. p. 26. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 17, 2023.