Hilton Chicago Hotel (Chicago, Illinois)

 hotel, skyscraper, Hilton Worldwide, interesting place, historical building, historic remains

720 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, IL was built by the family of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and originally named the Stevens Hotel, it was at one time the world's largest hotel with 3,000 guest rooms and had the largest ballroom. The Stevens Hotel, designed by Holabird & Roche, opened in 1927 and cost $30,000,000 to build. It has 29 floors and a height of 341 ft (104 m). The hotel was used as barracks and classrooms for the Army Air Force during World War II. It became part of the Hilton chain and was named the Conrad Hilton from 1951 until 1984.

Famous residents and visitors include Al Capone, President Richard Nixon, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Emperor Hirohito of Japan, and aviator Charles Lindburgh. This was the film site for parts of "The Fugitive" and helicopter pad scenes for the TV drama "ER" were filmed on the hotel's roof.

The Hilton Center, a three-storey building with conference space and two ballrooms, was added in 1962. The building underwent a $185,000,000 renovation from 1984 to 1985, reopening as the Chicago Hilton and Towers. A parking garage was added during the renovation. In 1998, the name was changed to Hilton Chicago. The hotel currently has 1,544 guest rooms. The 5,000 sq ft (460 sq m) Conrad Hilton suite occupies the top two floors of the building. A public lounge and promenade was created from some of the panels and furniture from the SS Normandie.

The Hilton Chicago is part of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District. For more information, guests can call (312) 922-4400.

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