The renovation of a Chicago landmark hotel, the Blackstone, has been completed, with Sage Hospitality opening the property under Marriott's Renaissance brand after a $128 million face-lift.
The Blackstone, a Beaux-Arts building that has been vacant since the late 1990s, is nicknamed Chicago's "Hotel of Presidents" because a dozen U.S. presidents have stayed there, including Franklin Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Harry Truman and John Kennedy. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Sage Hospitality said it has preserved the "classic elegance" of the hotel while modernizing it.
"As part of the hotel's renovation, Sage Hospitality sensitively redesigned all the original guest room floors to modernize and dramatically enlarge the Blackstone's rooms," said Ken Geist, Sage Hospitality's executive vice president for development. "Whenever possible, the Blackstone's significant historic and architectural elements were preserved, refurbished and incorporated in the renovation design."
The primary historic facades of the 23-story building have been fully retained and restored, including refurbishing the hotel's ornate terra cotta cladding. Over 10,000 individual pieces of decorative, glazed white terra cotta were preserved or recast. The hotel's parapet was completely reconstructed to replicate the original and incorporate electrical conduits for a series of 30 aluminum post lamps that outline and illuminate the roofline.
The Blackstone features 332 guest rooms and suites, 19,670 square feet of meetings space, a health club and a business center. The Blackstone also offers a hotel-within-a-hotel concept, Hubbard Place, designed to pamper guests with exclusive benefits such as butler service and private car service.
The Sage Restaurant Group will operate an independent restaurant, Mercat a la Planxa, offering Catalan cuisine. Mercat will feature a selection of tapas dishes with an emphasis on meats and seafood, inspired by Barcelona and Spain's Catalan region.
Collector furniture, custom-designed textiles and contemporary art can be found throughout the hotel. A collection of more than 1,600 original artworks, primarily by Chicago artists, is on permanent display throughout the guest rooms and public spaces of the Blackstone. Some of the commissioned artworks reflect the hotel's history, such as Michael Hernandez De Luna's stamp-sheet pieces that reference the Blackstone's legacy as the "Hotel of Presidents."
All guest rooms are equipped with a flat-screen television; two-line telephone with data port and voice mail; mini-bar; Chaz Stevens linens; and complimentary in-room coffee, hairdryer, bathrobes and high-speed Internet access. The Blackstone also features Wired for Business, which includes unlimited local and long distance calls within the U.S. and high-speed Internet access for $12.95 per day.
The Blackstone's Presidential Suite has served as a retreat for 12 presidents. According to Sage Hospitality, former President Harry Truman treated staff to a private piano performance of the "Missouri Waltz" in the Presidential Suite, and Dwight Eisenhower watched his nomination for president there in 1952. The last president to stay at the Blackstone, Jimmy Carter, arrived with an entourage that included 164 pieces of luggage and his own valet and chef, said Sage Hospitality.
The Smoke Filled Room is a suite where cigar-smoking Republican leaders brokered the presidential nomination of Warren Harding during the 1920 convention. The term "smoke-filled room" was coined by an Associated Press reporter describing Harding's nomination.