Chicago ยท Magnificent Mile
InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile
The Shriners' 1929 Medinah Athletic Club, with a pool lined in Spanish majolica tile and a Moorish dome meant for docking dirigibles.
- Built
- 1929Built as the Medinah Athletic Club for the Shriners; opened 1929 (HHA).
- Style
- Eclectic (Assyrian, Egyptian, Moorish and Mediterranean motifs)
- Architect
- Walter W. Ahlschlager
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Area
- Magnificent Mile
- Credentials
- Historic Hotels of America member; Inside a National Register historic district
The story
The Shriners built the tower as the Medinah Athletic Club, designed by Walter W. Ahlschlager, and it opened in 1929 with a ballroom, a swimming pool lined in Spanish majolica tile, and a Moorish dome meant as a dirigible docking point. The club went bankrupt and lost the building in 1934. Developer John J. Mack reopened it about a decade later as the Continental Hotel and Town Club. InterContinental acquired the hotel (1988 or 1989 per HHA’s two pages) and restored it, using a donated club yearbook as a reference.
Good to know
- Address: 505 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611
Things to do
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Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.