Donnellan's 1928 attempt to become the first pilot to fly solo from Chicago to South America over the Gulf of Mexico, a trip that left him grounded in Cuba because of storms. He also arranged for the hotel to sponsor Capt. He was constantly creating activities for hotel residents.ĭwyer inaugurated "The Allerton Cup," an award presented each year to the basketball champion of the Big 10, then the Western Conference. Dwyer, was a dynamic ex-college basketball star from the East Coast sent here by the home office. The first general manager in the Roaring '20s, Walter W. None of the pamphlets said "for whites only," but it was generally understood that in the early decades, African-Americans were on the premises only as employees and not as customers - a policy followed by other major hotels in pre-World War II Chicago. "They are the embodiments of an ideal."įrom another: "An Allerton man is regarded as one who is particular in the choice of his residence, selective in the manner of his associates, appreciative of the better things of life, while mindful of the kind of economy that makes for success." "Allerton Houses are more than splendidly designed structures of brick and mortar," said one brochure.
There were numerous social events, indoor golf in the basement, sports leagues, squash courts, a solarium, a library, an in-house magazine for residents and a glee club that sang on Monday evenings. The hotel originally opened as the sixth member of the New York-based Allerton chain and, while the Tip Top Tap gave it special status in years to come, the real cachet at the start came from a marketing program that positioned it as a "residential experience for young, middle-income men and women that was meant to approximate that of private clubs," according to early brochures.įourteen floors offering small apartment-style rooms for extended stays were set aside for men and, in 1930, another six floors for women. Stars such as Bob Hope, Jack Benny, Jack Lemmon and Betty Grable could be frequently spotted in the lobby or any of the Allerton's eating locales, such as the Steinway lunch counter. The "Breakfast Club's" regular ensemble of players - most notably Fran Allison of "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" fame - and special guests kept a steady flow of celebrities passing through the hotel's doors. "The show was done live in front of an audience, and I think everyone went to see it at one time or another," said Chuck Schaden, historian of Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications. In its heyday, the program, which originated from several Chicago hotels before landing in the Allerton in its final years, was carried on 350 stations. Thousands more who never set foot in Chicago also knew the Allerton as the last home of the nationally syndicated "Breakfast Club" radio show, with the late Don McNeill as host for 35 years before the plug was pulled in 1968. "This is where you went if you wanted to seduce someone," recalled one ex-customer, "or wanted to persuade someone to marry you." Entertainers of the day, including Gloria Van, Johnny Desmond and Johnny "Scat" Davis, were regular performers.
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It was a popular, classy nightclub before TV sets started keeping people at home in the 1950s. Nevertheless the reputation of the Tip Top Tap looms as large as ever for many Chicagoans. The hotel barely comes to the knees of the John Hancock Center just a few blocks to the north.
Of course the Allerton, once the tallest structure for blocks, has been dwarfed in recent decades by a virtual forest of newer buildings along Michigan and in the adjacent Streeterville neighborhood.
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