By David Gottlieb, Class of 2011
Which of these statements are true?
1) The Congress Plaza Hotel was originally known as the Auditorium Annex Hotel.
2) When the first section of the hotel was finished in 1893, a marble lined underground passageway known as Peacock Alley connected the new hotel to the Auditorium Hotel.
3) The South Tower, constructed in 1902 and 1907, contains the Gold Ballroom, with a ceiling height of forty feet; it is still in use today.
4) The hotel at one time had a Tiffany-designed fountain as well as a Tiffany art glass skylight.
In fact, all four of these statements are true. The original structure (known as the North Tower) at the southwest corner of Congress Street and Michigan Avenue was finished in 1893, just in time for the World’s Colombian Exposition. It contains 478 rooms and connected by an underground passage to the Auditorium Hotel. Peacock Alley, as it was known, is no longer there.
The architect Clinton Warren designed the Michigan Avenue façade to match the height of the Auditorium Hotel. He also replicated the Auditorium’s pattern of windows. The architectural term for a pattern of window and door openings is “fenestration.” Warren deliberately designed the fenestration to match the Auditorium Hotel to draw attention to the relationship between the two buildings. Even the arches over the windows, two thirds of the way up the façade, line up with the arched windows of the Auditorium Hotel.
Side by Side Comparisons
During the Food and Architecture Tour of 1893 we compare the structure of the Congress Hotel with the Roosevelt University building, the current name for the Auditorium Hotel. From the northeast corner of Michigan and Congress, we point out the similar fenestration of the two buildings. We also note that the corner column of Roosevelt University is much wider than the column at the corner of the Congress Hotel. This is because the Adler and Sullivan building did not use metal framing, while the Congress Hotel has metal framing throughout.
The hotel registration desk is in the lobby of the North Tower. While much of the lobby has been updated over the years, there are still hundred-year-old mosaics of a colorful floral pattern visible on the upper section of the walls. Above the lobby is the Florentine ballroom that was added in 1909. This ballroom still has the original wood paneling and bronze candelabras.
The South Tower, built in stages in 1902 and 1907, was designed by Holabird and Roche. Fire-proofing was a major concern; the steel and iron structural columns are surrounded by hollow, porous terra cotta. In addition, the guest-room floors are mostly cement, with only a two-inch square wood section around the edges of the floors allowing carpeting to be tacked down. Both towers have a “donut hole” in the center to allow light to enter those guest rooms that face the center of the towers.
According to the Chicago Daily Tribune (March 18, 1901), the cost of the southern addition was around $1,500,000—in the 35 million dollar range in today’s dollars. With its 600 guest-rooms, the developer, Mr. Southgate, pronounced the Congress Hotel one of the largest and most luxurious hotels in Chicago.
Great Press for the Gold Room
An article in Architects and Builders Magazine (February 1908) stated that in the new South Tower “the grand ballroom (known as the Gold Room) is hardly surpassed by another interior in this country.” It is 50 feet wide by 100 feet long, with a ceiling height of 40 feet. The vaulted ceiling holds four large paintings. There are beautifully crafted candelabras throughout the hall, and there is an upper balcony with bronze railings in a “delicate pattern.” The Architectural Review of Boston (April 1913) noted that the decorations in the style of Louis XIV are in colors of gray, ivory, and gold. Most of the decorations of the Gold Room are still visible today. The paintings, sculptures, and candelabras are of the same quality seen in the lobby of the Palmer House, built 20 years later than the Gold Room.
The Gold Room was the first in Chicago to have air conditioning. The national Republican Party held meetings in the Gold Room in 1952, and in 1971 the room held more than two thousand people when President Nixon gave an address there.
From the early 1900s until the end of World War II, seven presidents stayed at the hotel, including Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt. During World War II, the government purchased the hotel and used it as a headquarters for army officers.
Over time there have been some updates and modifications. Unfortunately the Tiffany fountain and art glass skylight were removed. However, there is still much to see in this grand hotel, one of Chicago’s hidden gems.
Author’s note: Thanks to the staff at the Congress Hotel and to the librarians at the Art Institute for help with this article. The Congress sales staff, led by Jacqueline Warda, has offered to show you the Gold Ballroom as long as it is not in use.
Hey, David. Thanks for the wonderful review of the Congress. I think it is a hidden gem in the south loop. Ellen
Dave,
Thanks for the article!
As we all know, one of the reasons that the Auditorium Hotel eventually failed is that only half of its rooms had bathrooms en suite, and this lack of bathrooms had become unfashionable. No doubt the South Tower of the Congress Hotel had bathrooms en suite for all of its rooms, but did the North Tower have that feature when it opened in 1893?
Bob Michaelson
When we learned the historic south loop tour, I remember hearing that the 1893 building had individual bathrooms for each room. I did not find that specifically stated though in the articles I found about the original building. I did read about renovations over the years and putting in more bathrooms was never mentioned, so my assumption is yes that each room had a bathroom from the start. Let me know if you find anything else.