Medinah Athletic Club, Hotel Continental, new Town Club of Chicago, Sheraton, Intercontinental Hotel
Life Span: 1929-Present
Location: NE corner of Michigan and E. Illinois Street
Architect: Walter W. Ahlschlager
Chicago Tribune, January 25, 1927
CLEAR SITE FOR NEW 34 STORY MEDINAH CLUB
Workmen yesterday began clearing the site for the new Medinah Athletic club building at the corner of Michigan boulevard and Illinois street.
Situated just across the way from the Tribune Tower, a thirty-four story building will arise shortly to join the tall structures north of the link bridge. When completed it will be devoted exclusively above the second floor te club purposes. Six hundred rooms. in addition to lounges and all manner of recreational and athletic equipment, will be provided for members.
Of the 3,000 memberships offered for sale, it is announced that 2,950 have been taken.
Chicago Tribune, December 11, 1927
MAYOR BREAKS GROUND FOR NEW MEDINAH TOWER
An excited young man, seeing Mayor Thompson at Michigan boulevard and Illinois street yesterday with a shovel in his hand and about to start digging, ran across the street shout-Ing: “Look! It’s Big Bill starting the subway.”
“Starting the subway?” asked some one nearer the mayor.
“Not yet. That’s coming later.”
Mr. Thompson was breaking ground for the new Medinah Athletie club, of which he is a member, to be erected at the Michigan and Illinois corner.
The club building, designed by Walter W. Ahischlager, will cost $7,000,000 and will be 42 stories high. Club membership, restried to Shriners, is already over 3,000. Among the Shriners present at the ground breaking were Thomas J. Houston, president of the club; Thomas J. Kennedy, secre tary; H. R. Kent, treasurer; U. J. “Sport” Hermann, Walter M. Kroll, David J. Leaf, Clyde B. Harding, and Herman F. Stelborn.
- Mayor William Hale Thompson digging first shovelful of dirt as work started yesterday on 42 story Medinah Athletic club building. at Michigan avenue and Illinois street. The mayor is surrounded by club officials and representatives of the contractors.
- Medinah Athletic Club
1929
Chicago Tribune, November 6, 1928
RECORDS PLACED IN CORNERSTONE OF MEDINAH A. C.
Officers and directors of the Medinah Athletic club met yesterday after-toon at the new $7,300,000 structure nearing completion north of The Tribune tower to seal in the corner stone the copper box containing historic records of the organization.
Among the records was a copy of The Chicago Tribune of Nov. 22, 1925, In which appeared a story of the proposed building; the roster of the committee of 1,000, a compiete roster of the membership, a booklet of the Shriners’ Hospital for Crippled Children, pictures of officers, directors and board of governors, coins, a consistory Bible, and other historic data.
The building will be turned over to the club by the contractors before Dec. 25 and plans are being made for the formal opening the last of January. Ground was broken last De-cember, two yearse after the building program was launched.
Those present for the ceremony were T. J. Houston, president; Paul C. Loeber and E. H. Taylor, vice presidents; H. R. Kent, treasurer: W. S. West-wood, acting secretary; Edward H. Thomas, potentate of the temple, U. J. Herrmann, chairman of the building committee; E. Edwin Mills, past po-tentate: Walter W. Ahlschlager, architect, and J. Paschen of Paschen Bros., contractors.
- ZEPPELIN SOARS OVER CHICAGO FOR 18 MINUTES.
Left: The exotic gold dome, which is Moorish in influence, originated as part of a decorative docking port for dirigibles before the Hindenburg disaster changed the country’s mind about the future of travel by blimp. Medinah Athletic Club brochure photo.
Right: The taller buildings on the near north side, shown in the picture, left to right, are: Palmolive, Allerton club, Wrigley, Medinah Athletic club, and the Tribune Tower. Thousands waved welcomes to the Zeppelin from their windows. Chicago Tribune, August 29, 1929 photo.
Chicago Tribune, April 14,1929
Just about one year ago yesterday Chicago Shriners were gazing down into a deep and capacious hole at the northeast corner of Michigan avenue and Illinois. Now they’re looking up at Chicago’s ultimate in clubhouses, the new Medinah Athletic—approximately $8,000,000 worth of it—on the same site. And tomorrow they will be invited to enter in and take possession.
Scattered groups of workmen were hustling and bustling yesterday throughout the fourteen floors of club rooms, sawing and hammering and planing, painting and repainting walls and ceilings and exquisite oil pieces. But the motto for Monday is “Service in every department,” and service, according to John S. Fee, manager, there will be.
Lavish Art Work.
With fourteen floors of the magnificent structure to investigate, however, each with its own multitude of attractions, probably few if any of the 3,500 members will halt long enough for service of any kind. The remaining floors are given over to luxurious living quarters, many of which are already occupied.
Art work throughout the clubhouse is so lavish, and of such richness as to surpass anything of a like nature in the city. Each of the fourteen floors is designed by the architect, Walter W. Ahlschlager, who has emphasized spaciousness everywhere. Murals on paneled walls in lounges and hallways, and ceiling designs are done in oil, by hand, in colors often resembling the tones and patterns of luxurious rugs. Each design is different.
Huge steel beams supporting the ceilings of the grills are noteworthy for the materials used—steel worked over with plaster and stained to simulate wood so perfectly that they appear ponderous and ancient timbers. One member on a trip of inspection complained that the beams looked “too rotten to be safe.”
Leather Soundproof Doors.
Private dining rooms are divided by folding doors made of two layers of heavy leather that fold up with a caterpillar motion when it is desired to open the entire suite for a dinner. These doors are soundproof when closed.
E. A. Halverson, formerly a national diving champion, is in charge of the pool on the thirteenth floor, one of the largest and finest in the city, and S. P. Coombs is the director of athletics in the adjacent gymnasium.
H. O. Crippen of the membership committee cites an indoor rifle range as one of the popular attractions, together with a bowling alley constructed with soundproof walls.
- Swimming Pool
Known as the Johnny Weismuller pool, a testament to the famous Olympic athlete and actor who trained in its waters.
- Grand Ballroom
The elegant Grand Ballroom, a two-story, 100-foot elliptical space, was decorated with ornaments in Egyptian, Assyrian, and Greek styles and was surrounded by a horseshoe-shaped mezzanine. In its center hung a 12,000-pound Baccarat crystal chandelier, the largest in North America.
Chicago Tribune, June 21, 1934
MEDINAH ATHLETIC CLUB SEEK REORGANIZATION
Among the petitions filed in the United States District court yesterday under section 77B of the amended bankruptcy law were those involving Medinah Athletic club, Lott Hotels, Inc., and Southern United Gas company. The Medinah Athletic club, according to the petition filed by the law firm of Blum & Jacobsen on behalf of three creditors, has assets of $3,803,000 and liabilities of $4,870,000. Liabilities consist mainly of bonded debt, a first mortgage bond issue accounting for $4,200,000 and a second mortgage bond issue for $520,000. The property is already in federal equity receivership. A reorganization plan will probably be presented within a few days, according to A. M. Blum.
Chicago Tribune, October 11, 1944
MEDINAH CLUB HOTEL RENAMED BY NEW OWNER
Hotel Continental and the new Town Club of Chicago are the names selected for the hotel and club facilities in the 42 story Medinah club, building, 505 N. MichJohn J. Mack, Chicago hotel operator, announced yesterday. He bought it recently for $1,543,750.
About 1 million dollars will be spent remodeling the structure into a 650 room hotel from plans by Holabird and Root. Operation of the hotel will be continued during the alterations which are scheduled for completion early in 1945.
The new Town club will spend about $100,000 remodeling the 9th to 13th floors, inclusive, for its use. James J. Finnegan, president of the defunct Medinah club, said memberships in the old club are invalid.
The third floor will be occupied by the recently formed Armed Forces Officers club of which Rear Adm. John Downes is president and Brig. Gen. Manus McCloskey is vice president. Abner J. Stilwell is treasurer and Sydney Lovitt executive director.
Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1962
Ports of Call
Does Kon-Tiki Ports, the Sheraton-Chicago hotel’s new restaurant of South Pacific flavor, really have fascinating atmos-phere, readers ask. Is the food good? Is it expensive?
Judging from previews, the answer on all three counts is an emphatic yes.
The newly assembled staff should be in good trim when doors open to the public at 11:30 a. m. Monday. Strenuous rehearsals have been staged this week during a splash of lavish preview luncheons, cocktail, and dinner parties, at which approximately 3,000 guests have been entertained.
Some got lost in the crush on Monday night. In response to 400 invitations sent to members of the press, radio, and TV, an estimated 600 visitors stopped in to sample viands and see the exotic dining rooms— which the management refers to as “ports of call.”
Approximately 7,500 hors d’ouevre and canape tidbits, including 450 pounds of barbecued ribs, were served in the various rooms-the dimly lit Papeete, Tama, and Lanai, where fish nets, floats, shells, an authentic canoe, and carved gods lend a Polynesian atmosphere; the Macao, hung with beautiful Chinese lanterns and screens and named after the Portuguese city across the bay from Hong Kong; and the Saigon, a bright, airy and elegant room created around an adaption of a Vietnamese temple.
Guests make their way to the “ports” across the deck of a water floating clipper. Polished and elegant, it is sure to be a hit with cafe adventurers. But it’s a far cry from Thor Heyerdahl’s famed but primitive Kon-Tiki balsa raft after which the restaurant was named by its designer and operator, Stephen Crane.
French Chef
If Executive Chef Andre Devillier. a dashing looking mustached Frenchman formerly with the Carlyle and the Waldorf in New York City, keeps to the standard of a small preview luncheon last Monday, the fare will be delightful. (Incidentally, M. Devillier drives a sleek black Triumph 2000 and is expert at the twist as well as in the culinary arts.)
He presides over two handsome stainless steel kitchens, one for Cantonese and Polynesian foods, the other for continental and American dishes. At the luncheon were such appetizer delicacies as crabmeat on artichoke bottoms, mushrooms stuffed with ham pate, crispy egg rolls, and marinated beef slices.
The salad was hearts of palm; the main dish, thin scallops of veal and ham served with sauteed artichoke hearts and mush-rooms. Dessert was of fresh fruit and melon balls marinated in kirsch.
The operation is truly international. We learned that one of the pert little Japanese waitresses hails from Iowa. An exotic sarong-clad hostess, whose parents came from Malaya, grew up in Chicago and is learning about the Pacific thru the Kon-Tiki.
Chicago Tribune, March 19, 1989
By Steve Kerch
The interior of the Medinah Athletic Club was a sight to behold when it opened 60 years ago.
From the lobby up, it was an architectural attempt to trace no less than the course of civilization through a stupendous mix of Greek, Roman, Assyrian, Celtic, medieval, Spanish and Renaissance styles.
Yet for all that, the club gained its greatest renown for its Olympic-sized swimming pool, which, 14 floors above Chicago, made it at the time one of the highest pools in the world.
Now, renovators are diving into the historic building and recovering the wealth of architectural treasures within its depths.
When the property reopens in October as the Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago, It promises to return a magnificent pearl to North Michigan Avenue.
“When Inter-Continental got involved and analyzed the project, we found a tremendous jewel of a building that has not been maintained over the years,” said Sandor Stang, vice president and managing director of the Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago.
“We wanted to preserve as much of that architectural beauty as possible. But it goes much further than restoration. We want to do museum-quality work. It will be different than any hotel in Chicago.”
Some of the jewels are barely visible at the moment. But a tour of the building reveals how Inter-Continental and its partners in the $115 million restoration are polishing and remounting the diamonds in the rough. For instance:
- • In the grand ballroom on the 7th floor a balcony torn out in the past will be replaced and a frieze depicting a processional of Egyptian women going to a ball will be replicated at the ceiling line. A series of 37 murals is being refurbished offsite.
• In the pool area, the Spanish majolica tiles around the walls and the Italianate fountain along the far wall will be restored. In the Boulevard Room, a function room on the 5th floor, marble accents and elm paneling are being cleaned and repaired.
• The stone balcony in the Spanish Court area has been reopened, and on either side of the stairway the carved marble lions, which will become the logo for the new hotel, are being cleaned of several layers of paint.
• The Moorish-style dome atop the tower, the club’s most recognizable feature, will be regilded.
“We’re restoring a building that was pretty badly whitewashed and had a lot of modifications made that pretty much obliterated what we’re trying to restore,” MAT Associates Inc., a company that is a partner in the redevelopment and also construction manager.
- LEFT: Much the same, but being restored: Spanish tiles and Italianate fountain of the Medinah Athletic Club’s 14th-floor pool, aming the world’s highest in 1929.
RIGHT: The stone reopened, and the carved marble lions flanking the stairway are being cleaned. The lions will be the logo for the Hotel Inter-Continental Chicago.
“But people did not rip out or destroy the original architecture,” she said. “That’s what we’re using to help this hotel stand apart from any hotel that has opened up or will open up in this city.
“It will be totally shocking to local people when they come to see the finished hotel. I don’t know how many people really know what’s in there because so many of the longs, have been closed to the public for so long.”
The 42-story Medinah Athletic Club opened at 505 N. Michigan Ave, in 1929. The club was built at the same time as the Medinah Temple, 600 N. Wabash Ave., which along with the club was built for the Masonic Order.
Briefly the club was a premier gathering spot for the city’s elite and for visiting dignitaries.
It had a shooting range, miniature golf course, running track, gymnasium, billiards room, bowling alley and two-story boxing arena.
There were corporate meeting rooms, men’s smoking lounges and a separate women’s entrance and elevator to the ballroom, the only area in which women were permitted.
Now, only the swimming pool remains virtually untouched.
The club went into bankruptcy in 1934.
A lengthy battle over the property, which sporadically operated as an athletic club during the fight, ended in 1944 when hotel operator John J. Mack purchased the building. A $1 million renovation produced the 650-room Continental Hotel and the Town Club of Chicago, which ran the athletic facilities.
Sheraton Corp, acquired the property in 1947 and added a 26-story tower to the north side of the property in 1961.
MAT Associates bought the hotel from Sheraton in 1978 and retained Radisson Hotel Corp. to run it as the Radisson Chicago Hotel. MAT terminated Radisson’s contract in 198z and ran the property again as the Continental Hotel until it closed in November, 1986.
The buildings have been vacant since. Stangl said that problems putting together financing for the $115 million project delayed the start of restoration until late last year. The plan was able to proceed after MAT formed a joint venture with Chrysler Capital Kealty, Inter-Continental and Melvin Simon & Associates of Indianapolis.
The renovation will create two distinct hotels, the 348-room luxury Hotel Intercontinental.
- Medinah Athletic Club
Ross & Browne Real Estate Map
1928
I learned to swim there in the mid 1940s. Lyle Perch ean the pool. He had a rubber stamp of his signature And I thought this was the coolest thing I’d ever seen!