Newly opened Drake Hotel in a 1920 picture postcard

The Drake Hotel, 140 East Walton Place, Chicago, Illinois, is a luxury full-service hotel. It is one of just two United States hotels owned by Hilton International (which owns the Hilton brand outside the United States). Overlooking Lake Michigan it was founded in 1920 in the Italian Renaissance style and soon became Chicago's landmark hotel. It has 537 bedrooms and 74 suites and two large ballrooms. Image File history File links Scan of picture postcard of the Drake Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, United States printed in 1920. ... Image File history File links Scan of picture postcard of the Drake Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, United States printed in 1920. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 25th 149,998 km² 340 km 629 km 4. ... A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging, usually on a short-term basis and especially for tourists. ... Hilton Group plc LSE: HG. is a British based leisure company. ... Sunset on Lake Michigan Another sunset along the lake. ... 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January January 7 - Forces of Russian White admiral Kolchak surrender in Krasnoyarsk. ... A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated puprose of which is holding dances (balls). ...

All the corridors and guest rooms were renovated in a $45 million five-year project from 1998 to 2003. A further $15 million is being spent in 2005 and 2006 to add a fitness center, an executive conference center, and new luxury bedding and desks in all the guest rooms.

Since it was founded it has been frequented by many heads of state, assorted celebrities, international personalities and members of the European aristocracy. Notable guests have included Winston Churchill, Prince Charles and Princess Diana (albeit 19 years apart), Elizabeth Taylor, the Marchese and Marchesa Chiaramonte-Ragusa, and Prince Felix Yusupov. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe carved their initials into the wooden bar of the Cape Cod Room. Tourists visiting Chicago are often exhorted to have high tea at the Drake as an essential thing to do in the city. It includes several in-house luxury shops. This article is about the continent. ... -1... The Right Honourable Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ... Prince Charles may refer to: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, current heir-apparent to the British throne Any of the previous British royals named Charles, Prince of Wales The former Belgian regent, Prince Charles of Belgium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... Diana, Princess of Wales (Diana Frances Mountbatten-Windsor, née Spencer) (1 July 1961–31 August 1997), commonly, but incorrectly, known as Princess Diana, was for fifteen years the wife of HRH The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales. ... Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor DBE (b. ... A Marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe and Japan. ... A marquess is a nobleman of hereditary rank in Europe, China, and Japan. ... Arms of Chiaramonte The Chiaramonte were an ancient noble family of Sicily, claiming descent from Charlemagne they became the most powerful and wealthy family in Sicily. ... Ragusa (It. ... The term prince (the female form is princess), from the Latin root princeps, when used for a member of the highest aristocracy, has several fundamentally different meanings - one generic, and several types of titles. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Joseph Paul DiMaggio, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr. ... Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson, June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) is arguably the twentieth-centurys most famous movie star, sex symbol and pop icon. ...

According to local legend Drake was standing with a hotel owner watching the 1871 Chicago fire. The owner seeing his hotel threatened by the flames offered to sell it for any price. Drake noticed that the wind direction was changing and made an offer and so founded the Drake Hotel. This urban legend cannot be true because it occurs 50 years before the hotel's foundation. Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). ...

William Drake and his wife Elizabeth lived at the hotel for several years until the family lost the hotel during the Great Depression. Dorothea Langes Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven children, age thirty-two, in Nipomo, California, March 1936. ...

Scenes from the movies Mission: Impossible, Risky Business, My Best Friend's Wedding, Hero, What Women Want and Flags of Our Fathers, and Wicker Park, were filmed at the hotel. Mission: Impossible (1996) is a film directed by Brian De Palma and featuring Tom Cruise, based on the television series Mission: Impossible. ...