W Chicago Hotel City Center (Midland Club/Hotel)

A private club for businessmen commissioned this Beaux-Arts building at the end of the Roaring Twenties. After the club failed during the Great Depression, the building became a hotel. Its surprisingly large column-free library and its dining room were converted into meeting rooms. In 2001, W Hotels transformed the building with stylish new designs by Shopworks that complemented its ornate decor. Oversized lamps bring a touch ofAlice In Wonderlandto the lobby.

Karl M. Vitzthum, 1929