Hotel Baker
_05.JPG)
The historic Hotel Baker, located in downtown St. Charles, IL
|
|
| Address | 100 W. Main St. St. Charles, IL 60174 |
|---|---|
| Opened | June 2, 1928 |
| Funded by | Col. Edward J. Baker |
| Architects | Wolf, Sexton, Harper & Trueax, Inc. |
| General Contractor | Max A. Lehmann and Sons |
|
|
|
|
Hotel Baker
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | St. Charles, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 41°54′49″N 88°18′54″W / 41.91361°N 88.31500°WCoordinates: 41°54′49″N 88°18′54″W / 41.91361°N 88.31500°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1928 |
| Architectural style | Spanish Romantic Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 78001157 |
| Added to NRHP | December 8, 1978 |
Hotel Baker is a historic landmark in St. Charles, Illinois. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been in and out of the hotel business since 1928.
It was 1926 when the groundbreaking began at a site of a garbage dump at the Main Street bridge. Col. Edward J. Baker envisioned a luxury hotel, a resort and escape for the community of St. Charles, and an icon to the world for what big things were happening there.
The Hotel Baker was built on the site of the old Haines Mill, which had been destroyed by fire in 1918 and was then used as a dumping grounds for seven years. Col. Baker believed that a garbage dump should not be the focal point of his hometown, so he bought the land and construction commenced on what was to be "the World's finest small hotel." The Hotel Baker was built with its own operating hydroelectric facility, the first-ever lighted dance floor of its kind; it boasted "the most modern 'phone system in the country"; there was a radio station established from the Hotel's tower (which now exists as the "Penthouse Suite"); the Hotel had its own parking garage, and the gardens originally extended further, featuring a fishing pond and nine-hole miniature golf course. The parking garage was demolished in 1983 and replaced by the assisted living facility Carroll Tower.
The Hotel opened to the public on June 2, 1928, hosting a dinner for 301. Col. Baker provided tours, and rooms cost $2.50 a night. Each room had its own bathroom and the fifth floor was entirely reserved for private apartments, the most luxurious of which featured open patios.
Col. Baker considered himself "first and foremost a farmer" and purchased four farms surrounding St. Charles—though he did not actually work the land—he rented the farms out and collected a profit on the goods sold, primarily dairy, eggs, cattle, and pork—of which was provided to the Hotel Baker for guaranteed freshness in its kitchens.
The Rainbow Room, iconically the most famous feature of the Hotel, was originally the Hotel's Restaurant and ball room. Such performers as Louis Armstrong, Lawrence Welk, Tommy Dorsey, Guy Lombardo, and Eddie Duchin performed at the Hotel Baker atop its 63,000 wattage dance floor of patterned red, green, blue, and amber lights numbering 2,620.
...
Wikipedia