Sheridan Park Hotel, 4631 Racine (formerly Pemberton Ave) Uptown Chicago

Stretches of what is now Racine Ave. were once known as Pemberton Ave.. The Sheridan Park Hotel was at 4631.

Here is the location today, courtesy Google Street Views:


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A Note on Uptown Chicago Hotels

From "Chicago Welcomes You" by Alfred Hoyt Granger, 1933:

Farther up on the north side, along Sheridan Road and its tributaries, are many hotels which will appeal to people wishing to get away from the turmoil of the city.

Among these the most amusing is the Edgewater Beach Hotel, at 5349 Sheridan Road. This building, unique and original in plan, is almost a small city within itself, and, besides the ordinary attractions of a first-class hotel, it offers to its patrons varied forms of entertainment. In the summer of 1930 a granddaughter of the Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria spent a few weeks in America visiting New York, Washington, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Chicago, and on her return to Vienna told her friends that she considered the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago the most fascinating place she had visited on her tour. This great lady, for she is just that, returned to her country disappointed in only one particular and that was that none of the people whom she met could introduce her to Al Capone.

The Sovereign Hotel, at 6200 Kenmore Avenue; the Sheldrake, at 4518 Clarendon; the Admiral, at 909 Foster Avenue overlooking the grounds of the Saddle and Cycle Club; the Belmont, at 3156 Sheridan, with its beautiful view of the Yacht Harbor and Gutzon Borglum's statue of General Sheridan; the Belden-Stratford, 2300 Lincoln Park W.; the Webster, 2150 Lincoln Park W., and the Parkway, 2100 Lincoln Park W., are a few among many delightfully located hostelries on the north side, where any visitor can be sure of pleasant surroundings during his or her stay in Chicago...

Aragon Drugs, 1039 Lawrence Avenue, Uptown Chicago

The address, 1039 Lawrence Avenue, puts it at the old Viceroy Hotel (now the Lorali), across the street from the famous Aragon Ballroom

New Lawrence Hotel, Lawrence and Kenmore, Uptown Chicago

A 12x18-inch art print is available here:New Lawrence Hotel.

Hotel Grasmere, 4621 N. Sheridan

The four-story Hotel Grasmere was designed by R.C. Harris and built in 1915. It survived as an apartment hotel well into the sixties. Today, the building is home to Grasmere Place, LLC. The image below is from Google maps.

Hotel Melbourne, 4625 N. Racine

Hotel Melbourne, 4625 N. Racine, Chicago.

Somerset Hotel, 5009 Sheridan at Argyle

The Somerset Hotel, on Sheridan at Argyle, looking north. What a great image! I wish the terracotta buildings just to the south were still there, instead of the mid-rise.

This is how the hotel looks today. Now known as Somerset Place, it functions as a nursing care facility. Image from Google street views.

The Somerset was designed by Samuel N. Crowen and opened in 1920. It originally had 441 furnished rooms arranged in 205 suites of one to four rooms. It was described as "the ideal dwelling place for those desiring the homelike atmosphere and privacy of an apartment combined with all the modern conveniences of a hotel." Jazz Age Chicago has an excellent history of the hotel.

Viceroy Hotel Key Fob

Here's one of my new favorite pieces, which I recently acquired at auction. It is a room key fob from the Viceroy Hotel (now the Lorali). Built in 1926 and located at the southwest corner of Kenmore and Lawrence, the Viceroy was designed by architects Huszagh and Hill, who also left their stamp on the neighborhood with the beautiful Aragon Ballroom and the New Lawrence Hotel, kitty corner from the Viceroy.

The thumbnail image is of the Viceroy in 1926. To see the full size version, go here.

Today the Viceroy is known as the Lorali, a retirement and care facility. A few years ago, the building owners stripped away much of the elaborate terra cotta. I'm not sure if they sold the pieces or threw them away.

The Monterey Hotel, Junior Terrace at Clarendon

The Monterey Hotel. 808 Junior Terrace, Corner Clarendon Ave. (4300 North) Chicago 13, Illinois. The back of the card reads: The North Shore's finest Residential Hotel. Catering to transient and Residential Guests. Located on the exclusive North Side, Overlooking Lake Michigan, Lincoln Park and the Outer Drive. 15 minutes to Downtown Shopping and Theatre Center. Motor bus at door. 808 Junior Terrace, Chicago 13, IL.

Image courtesy Brian M.