Chicago Hotel

[SarahZ]

Fantastic Find Sarah! Thanks for Posting! :hi:

And just like Old Train Menus, Ads etc. the Prices seem Low, but this was Back in the Days of "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?" so things weren't as Cheap as they Look!!

Yup. Every time I see old menus or advertisements, I like to go to a website that adjusts the prices to today's dollars. Sometimes, the food was more expensive. I saw a butcher shop sign once that advertised pork loins for X cents/pound, and when I converted it, it worked out to around $6/pound in today's prices. I believe the butcher shop sign was from the late 1930s, in San Francisco.

 

[railiner]

Here's a page that has lots of old pictures and room service menus from the days when it was the Stevens Hotel:

http://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.wordpress.com/?s=stevens+hotel&searchsubmit=Find+%C2%BB

Great stuff! Thanks so much for posting it.

By the way, did you notice the menu for the 'Japanese Lunch Room' from 1937?

Wonder how long it lasted past 7 Dec 1941? ......if it was still around at all by then......

 

[Bob Dylan]

Here's a page that has lots of old pictures and room service menus from the days when it was the Stevens Hotel:

http://chuckmanchicagonostalgia.wordpress.com/?s=stevens+hotel&searchsubmit=Find+%C2%BB

Great stuff! Thanks so much for posting it.

By the way, did you notice the menu for the 'Japanese Lunch Room' from 1937?

Wonder how long it lasted past 7 Dec 1941? ......if it was still around at all by then......

Good Question! San Antonio changed the Name of the "Japanese" Gardens in Breckenridge Park to the "Oriental" Gardens after Pearl Harbor and of Course we had Rhodes Scholars trying to call French Fries "Freedom Fries" after 911!!!

 

[CoachSlumber]

I'm not really familiar with the different areas of Chicago, but I can tell you that Michigan Avenue is the "well known street" for shopping in Chicago. Like 5th Avenue is in NYC.

True, although really that would be North Michigan Avenue (The Magnificent Mile). South Michigan is more hotels, office buildings, food shops, and schools.

 

[CoachSlumber]

Thanks, everybody! At first, I was really happy to snag a room there for only $79, but then I got suspicious. The words to Bad, Bad Leroy Brown started turning over in my head about the South side of Chicago being the "baddest part of town" I didn't know if that part of town included the hotel area!

Also, thanks for the museum, aquarium tips We'll probably choose one or the other and not try to do both in one day. We'll be there on a Sunday, so buying tickets ahead of time is a great idea, Sarah. I hadn't thought about that. Also, it's during Christmas Break, so I'm sure there will be crowds.

South Side's not that bad at all. I hung out around there on my 2012 trip. The most dangerous part is probably Cicero. $79 really is a great deal for the Hilton, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Skokie for $75 last year. Be sure to ride the "L" even though it's quite slow compared to other rapid transit. And buy a CTA pass.

Not all of the South Side is bad, but some of the worst areas in Chicago, such as Englewood, are on the South Side. As has been said, she is really just in the South Loop. Cicero is a separate town and considered west or southwest. But yes, $79 is phenomenal for that hotel, where rooms can easily go for over $200.