Chicago ยท South Michigan Avenue
The Blackstone
The Drake brothers' 1910 Beaux-Arts hotel, where Republican leaders settled on Warren G. Harding in the 1920 'smoke-filled room.'
- Built
- 1910Built 1908-1910 (City of Chicago landmark record; NRHP significant years 1909, 1910).
- Style
- Beaux-Arts (Modern French)
- Architect
- Marshall & Fox
- Type
- Grand hotel
- Rooms
- 335
- Area
- South Michigan Avenue
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Local landmark
The story
Hoteliers Tracy and John Drake built the Blackstone in 1908-1910 to designs by Marshall & Fox and named it for railroad executive Timothy B. Blackstone. The city calls it Chicago’s best example of a turn-of-the-century luxury hotel. Known as the ‘Hotel of Presidents,’ it hosted a dozen U.S. presidents, and its ‘smoke-filled room’ is where Republican leaders settled on Warren G. Harding as the compromise nominee in June 1920.
Good to know
- Parking: on-site paid
- Address: 636 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL 60605
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Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.