Standing right in front of the Hotel Roosevelt, you might be surprised to learn that this eight-story structure wasn’t always named after the famous president. You might think a building so grand, perched on the corner of Wabash Avenue and Roosevelt Road, would have always proclaimed its connection to such a celebrated figure. The story, however, takes us back to the late nineteenth century, when Chicago was experiencing a breathtaking building boom. In 1892, the Somerset Hotel, as it was then known, was erected, designed by the talented Jules De Horvath. The Somerset, with its Romanesque Revival architecture, stood as one of the prominent buildings that shaped the neighborhood between two significant South Side rail stations. It offered a higher level of amenities than makeshift boarding houses, including running water, indoor toilets, steam heat, electricity, and ample natural light. The hotel, however, went through a series of name changes, becoming the Mayer Hotel in 1910 and then finally the Hotel Roosevelt in the early 1920s. This renaming acknowledged the street’s transformation after the 1909 Commercial Club’s Plan of Chicago, which called for the widening of Twelfth Street, later renamed Roosevelt Road, in Theodore Roosevelt’s honor. While the plan envisioned tearing down the Somerset Hotel to make way for a modern, classically detailed structure, the old building endured. Its distinctive style, with its swelling bays, round-arched windows, and intricate brickwork, continues to stand tall, a unique and fascinating piece of the city’s history.
Центральный дом работников искусств
Step through the grand wooden doors of the Central House of the Workers of Art, and you’ll be transported to