Do you notice the red brick exterior? That is the Strand Hotel at 6315-6323 S. Cottage Grove Avenue. It is in Chicago. This historic apartment hotel opened in 1915.
The Strand Hotel offered guest rooms. It also offered long-term residences. These residences were for customers seeking luxury amenities. They wanted apartment-style housing.
Davis and Davis designed the Classical Revival building. It features a red brick exterior. The first floor is clad in terra cotta. Piers are outlined in terra cotta. An entablature and cornice sit at its roof.
Originally, the Strand Hotel included a restaurant. It also had a banquet hall. The banquet hall became a live music venue for many years. Once, it was part of Woodlawn’s major commercial district. Now, it is one of the few remnants. It is the only surviving apartment hotel building in the neighborhood.
The Strand Hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 29, 2013.
Thomas Gaynor financed the building in partnership with Frank Nasher. Gaynor was a local real estate developer. The hotel was originally called the Calumet Hotel. It was to be developed with a theater.
The adjacent theater was not realized until later. The Tivoli Theater opened on the site in 1921. It was one of the earliest movie palaces built in Chicago. It held 4000 seats. The Tivoli closed in 1963 and was demolished soon after.
The Strand Hotel maintained a good reputation through the early 1960s. In 1924, an advertisement promoted the Strand. It was listed with other prominent residential hotels.
The neighborhood began to decline during the Great Depression. African Americans moved into the neighborhood. This led to resistance and violence. By the 1950s, vice became a problem.
In 1960, hotels formed the Southside Hotel Association. The Strand Hotel was a charter member. They wanted to maintain high standards. They also wanted to attract community events.
By 1970, the Strand Hotel was redecorated. However, it was reportedly in decline by the mid-1970s. The hotel was later converted. It became a single room occupancy hotel. Eventually, it closed. The building is vacant.
The Strand Hotel’s lounge was called the Strand Lounge. McKie Fitzhugh opened McKie’s Disc Jockey Lounge here in 1956. Fitzhugh was a top Chicago DJ. He was also a leading dance promoter. The DJ Lounge hosted jazz and blues musicians. Gene Ammons and Dizzy Gillespie played here. The DJ Lounge closed in 1965. It reopened as the Strand Show Lounge in 1966.
The Strand Hotel is an early example of residential hotels. These hotels sprang up in Woodlawn. They also appeared in South Shore and Hyde Park. The Strand Hotel is the only remaining example in Woodlawn.
Residential hotels catered to short-term and long-term residents. They offered hotel convenience. They also offered home privacy. These hotels were designed for the wealthy and those of modest means.
The Strand Hotel is near 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Avenue. This intersection was once a major commercial center. The Strand Hotel exemplifies Woodlawn’s commercial growth.
The Strand Hotel occupies nearly its entire site. It has 103 feet of frontage on Cottage Grove Avenue. The building is five stories tall.
The building’s Classical Revival design features symmetry. It has a tripartite facade division. The facade has a one-story base. It also has multi-story piers. A projecting cornice sits at the top.
The Strand Hotel was designed for hotel and commercial uses. The lobby is centrally located. It maximizes commercial space. The lobby has a marble stair with an iron balustrade.
The corridor and lobby floors have ceramic mosaic tile. The walls and ceilings are finished in plaster. The upper floors contained hotel rooms. Most had shared bathrooms. The layout provided 140 guest rooms.
In 2015, the Strand Hotel reopened as an apartment complex. The complex has retail stores on the premises. The renovation project cost $23 million. The former lounge will serve as a retail site.