Blackstone Hotel
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Blackstone Hotel
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Renaissance Blackstone Hotel in 2008
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| Location | 636 S. Michigan Avenue (80 East Balbo Drive) Chicago, Illinois |
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| Coordinates | 41°52′24.39″N 87°37′28.48″W / 41.8734417°N 87.6245778°WCoordinates: 41°52′24.39″N 87°37′28.48″W / 41.8734417°N 87.6245778°W |
| Built | 1909 |
| Architect | Benjamin Marshall |
| Architectural style |
Second Empire Beaux-Arts |
| NRHP Reference # | 86001005 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 8, 1986 |
| Designated CL | May 29, 1998 |
The Renaissance Blackstone Hotel (formerly Blackstone Hotel) is located on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Street in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. This 290-foot (88 m) 21-story hotel was built from 1908 to 1910 and designed by Marshall and Fox. On May 29, 1998, the Blackstone Hotel was designated as a Chicago Landmark. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 8, 1986. It is also a historic district contributing property for the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District.
The hotel was named for Timothy Blackstone, a notable Chicago business executive and politician, who served as the founding president of the , president of the Chicago and Alton Railroad, and mayor of La Salle, Illinois. The hotel is famous for hosting celebrity guests including numerous U.S. presidents, for which it was known as the "Hotel of Presidents" for much of the 20th century. The hotel is known for contributing the term "smoke-filled room" to political parlance. The hotel fell into disrepair that necessitated closure in 2000 and subsequent renovation. It reopened on March 6, 2008 after a $128-million renovation and is managed by the Renaissance Hotels division of Marriott International.
The hotel and the adjacent Blackstone Theatre were built on the site of Timothy Blackstone's mansion by John and Tracy Drake, sons of Blackstone's former business partner, the hotel magnate John Drake. John and Tracy Drake also developed the Drake Hotel. Their father had been a director of Blackstone's Chicago and Alton Railroad. At the time of the opening, the hotel and theatre were located at the southern edge of the Chicago Theatre District at Michigan Avenue and Hubbard Court (which was first renamed 7th Street and later Balbo Drive).
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