Welcome to the Windermere, a pair of buildings in the Hyde Park community area of Chicago. Originally built in 1892 for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the site was rebuilt in 1924 with a West and East hotel under the architects Rapp and Rapp. These 12-story buildings provided 482 guest rooms and 200 apartments, and featured a tunnel connecting the two hotels.
Over the years, Windermere East attracted guests such as John Rockefeller, Philip Roth, George Burns, and Gracie Allen, as well as American football teams. While the buildings offered a significant presence in the neighborhood, the history of the site continued to evolve as the community changed.
Hotel Windermere West was demolished in 1959 to make way for a parking lot. Hotel Windermere East was converted into apartments in 1981 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 under the title Hotel Windermere East. Today, the building stands as a preserved piece of Chicago's architectural history on East 56th Street.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
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