Formerly: Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel (2008–2017)
Chicago, Illinois · Founded 1910 · Building: 1910
A 1910 Chicago landmark known as the Hotel of Presidents and for the 1920 political meeting that gave rise to “smoke-filled room.”
The Blackstone opened in Chicago in 1910 as a Marshall & Fox-designed hotel developed by John and Tracy Drake. It became known as the Hotel of Presidents and gained lasting political fame from the 1920 Republican Convention, when party leaders discussed Warren G. Harding’s nomination in its ninth-floor Vice Presidential Suite. After a years-long closure around 2000, the hotel returned to operation in March 2008 following a major restoration.
Construction begins on the Blackstone Hotel at Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive for owners John and Tracy Drake.
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; historical summaries of The Blackstone
The Blackstone opens in Chicago, designed by Marshall & Fox.
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; OnMilwaukee, "Urban spelunking: Chicago's legendary Blackstone Hotel"
During the Republican National Convention, party leaders discuss Warren G. Harding's presidential nomination in the Blackstone's ninth-floor Vice Presidential Suite. Associated Press reporter Raymond Clapper popularizes the phrase "smoke-filled room."
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; Loop Chicago, "The Blackstone Hotel: Storied History in the Chicago Loop"
The Blackstone Hotel is added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: National Register reference summarized by ULI Case Studies and historical property records
Chicago designates the Blackstone Hotel a Chicago Landmark.
Source: Chicago landmark designation summarized in historical property records
A safety inspection raises significant building concerns; the hotel ceases regular operation around 2000 and remains vacant for years.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "The Blackstone is back"; ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"
Sage Hospitality begins a two-year redevelopment and historic restoration of the dormant hotel.
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; Hotel News Resource, "$112 Million Restoration For Legendary Chicago Blackstone Hotel"
The restored hotel reopens as the Renaissance Blackstone Chicago Hotel; a public ribbon-cutting follows in April.
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; historical property records
After another renovation, the hotel is repositioned as The Blackstone under Marriott's Autograph Collection.
Source: Loop Chicago, "The Blackstone Hotel: Storied History in the Chicago Loop"; The Blackstone official history
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
During the 1920 Republican Convention, party leaders discussed Warren G. Harding's nomination in the ninth-floor Vice Presidential Suite. Associated Press reporter Raymond Clapper used the phrase "smoke-filled room" to describe the nomination process, linking the expression permanently to the Blackstone.
The Blackstone is widely known as the Hotel of Presidents and sources often state that it hosted twelve presidents or nearly every president from William Howard Taft through Jimmy Carter. The phrase "twelve consecutive presidents" is inaccurate because accounts of that period identify Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford as exceptions.
Multiple hotel-history and redevelopment sources describe the Blackstone as having hosted twelve presidents and as the Hotel of Presidents. This pass did not examine guest registers or White House travel schedules, so the exact count remains plausible rather than independently documented.
The hotel and local-history sources repeat the story that Capone favored the below-street-level, windowless barbershop because it reduced the risk of an ambush. This pass did not locate a contemporary Capone-era news report or official crime record confirming the visits, and it found no support for a named Capone suite or an illegal-operations headquarters.
Building-safety concerns identified in a 1999 inspection led to the hotel ceasing regular operation around 2000. It remained dormant until restoration work culminated in a March 2008 reopening.
The 1920 smoke-filled-room meeting occurred in Room 408.
Historical sources identify the Blackstone's ninth-floor Vice Presidential Suite as the setting associated with the 1920 nomination discussions and Raymond Clapper's "smoke-filled room" phrase.
Source: ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"; Loop Chicago, "The Blackstone Hotel: Storied History in the Chicago Loop"
The Blackstone hosted twelve consecutive U.S. presidents.
The Blackstone is widely called the Hotel of Presidents and is often credited with hosting twelve presidents, but historical summaries describe exceptions within the Taft-to-Carter span. "Twelve consecutive presidents" is not accurate.
Source: Hotel News Resource, "$112 Million Restoration For Legendary Chicago Blackstone Hotel"; ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"
The Blackstone operated continuously without closing since 1910.
A 1999 safety inspection preceded the hotel's closure around 2000. The building remained dormant until a major restoration and March 2008 reopening.
Source: ABC7 Chicago, "The Blackstone is back"; ULI Case Studies, "Blackstone Hotel"
Al Capone ran illegal operations from a Blackstone suite.
This review found only repeated accounts of Capone's alleged visits to the windowless barbershop. It found no reliable evidence for a Capone suite or an illegal-operations headquarters at the hotel.
Source: Chicago Detours, "Al Capone's Chicago: 5 Sites He Actually Knew"; Loop Chicago, "The Blackstone Hotel: Storied History in the Chicago Loop"
The Blackstone survived because preservation incentives, historic-tax-credit financing, and redevelopment investment turned a long-dormant Michigan Avenue landmark back into an operating hotel. Its political history, landmark status, presidential association, and formal public rooms give it an identity beyond ordinary luxury lodging. The story is restoration after interruption, not continuous hotel operation from 1910.
The Blackstone opened in Chicago, Illinois, in 1910 as a Marshall & Fox-designed hotel developed by John and Tracy Drake. In 1920, Republican leaders met in its ninth-floor Vice Presidential Suite while Warren G. Harding's nomination was being discussed, helping attach the phrase "smoke-filled room" to the hotel. After ceasing regular operations around 2000, it reopened after restoration on March 2, 2008.
No. The Blackstone opened in 1910 and is not a claimant to Chicago’s oldest-hotel title. Its historic importance comes from landmark architecture, presidential associations, and the 1920 smoke-filled-room connection.
The Blackstone is called the Hotel of Presidents because numerous U.S. presidents stayed there during the twentieth century. Sources commonly report twelve presidential guests, though this review did not independently verify the exact total through guest registers or presidential travel schedules.
636 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605
(312) 447-0955
Confirm current lobby, restaurant, and public-area access with the hotel before planning a non-guest visit.