The highrise tower was a later addition to an X-shaped lowrise hotel building.
This was once an extremely fashionable resort hotel for people seeking a nearby escape from city life. The hotel lost business after the Lake Shore Drive extension cut it off from the lake.
Among the hotel's famous guests (not necessarily in this tower) were U.S. Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.
After the hotel was cut off from the lake by the new drive, management added a swimming pool; this however failed to maintain its attraction as a resort.
The building had a symmetrically stepped profile with a tower in the middle reaching 19 stories, 15-story shoulders to its right and left, and 8-story wings on both sides.