A Look Back: The Belmont by Reside

Feb 19, 2017

Imagine: We’ve decided to start this post by asking you to close your eyes and imagine that you’re able to travel back in time. Do you have Spotify? If you do, before reading any further click here or search for King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band (Dipper Mouth Blues) and hit play. Do you have the music going? Ok, let’s continue this exercise.




Close your eyes and imagine that it’s 1924 and you’ve just arrived at The Hotel Belmont. The space is grand, the fire place is going and the music is rich. You’ve made your way to the bar known affectionately as the English Cocktail Lounge. You order a “Planter’s Punch” for .65 cents and begin your evening. Once you’ve finished sipping your drink you join a friend for dinner in the hotel’s magnificent dining room / restaurant, where Chef Pierre Deltort serves beautiful French cuisine priced at $1.50. Steep we know but worth it. Finally, you finish your meal and head just outside where you enjoy a stroll along the water. The hotel is of course situated along the water’s edge over looking “breeze-swept” Belmont Harbor.


Did you know? Did you know that from early in its history, Chicago’s hotels catered to both to tourists and to longer-term residents who paid by the week or month instead of by the night? Extended stay hotels were extremely popular specifically in the Lakeview neighborhood where you had immediate access to the city’s harbors. Until 1930, people might move to Chicago and never live anywhere except in a hotel. A room or suite of rooms in a palatial hotel (for the rich) or a middle-priced hotel were luxurious, conveniently located, and less expensive than maintaining a private house in the city. Hotels gave Chicago residents an instant social position, and interaction with some of the wealthiest residents of the city. Many of Chicago’s women physicians and businesswomen could pursue their professional lives only because hotel life freed them from household duties.


The Hotel Belmont was a well-preserved and architecturally noteworthy example of the large residential hotels constructed along Chicago’s Lakeshore in the decade following World War I. The $6 million, thirteen-story structure was completed in 1923 and dedicated by Mayor William E. Dever on February 7, 1924 with a dinner and dance attended by 500 guests. The Belmont featured 693 rooms, a 500-seat dining room, private function rooms, a ball room, a roof garden, coffee shop, and retail shops at the ground floor. Rates per evening ranged from $4.00-$5.00 nightly with weekly and monthly rental options available.


The Belmont by Reside: Naturally over span of 94 years Hotel Belmont underwent numerous changes, including its conversion to a nursing home/hotel known as The Belmont House. Finally, in 1993 the building was converted to traditional use apartments. In 2008 Reside Living acquired the historic Belmont House, renovating the property top to bottom.


The building is listed on National Register of Historic Places and retains many of its original historic features. For instance, what was once known as the English Cocktail Lounge is now known as The American Room. The American Room retains all the original wood detail that has remained untouched over the last 94 years. While it now serves as a resident lounge one can almost imagine what it was like to sit at the bar back in 1924. Along with The American Room the molding and artistic features found on the ceiling of the lobby have all been preserved and maintained. The lobby’s columns convey a sense of elegance and grandeur that sweeps through the entire building.


To us one of the most stunning preserved features of The Belmont is found in the most unlikely of places. Once the ballroom and now a parking garage the dome structure that once housed dancing guests still remains. Looking up at the intricate detail and art you are almost instantly transported back in time. It is truly a historic Chicago gem.


Living at The Belmont by Reside is in the truest sense living Chicago. Renter’s now have studio, one bed and two bed options to choose from. All of the apartments have been upgraded but if you look closely you can see a bit of the former hotel peeking through.

If you tend to geek out when it comes to stuff like this, check out this page from the Lakeview Historical Chronicles website. Scroll down and you’ll find tons of great images and articles about The Hotel Belmont as well as other extended stay hotels that are currently up and running as apartment communities.


In the rare chance that you don’t have Spotify we’ve linked some tunes from the twenties that will really help you imagine what 1923 and 1924 felt like.



a woman is running with the Chicago city skyline in the background.
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21 Feb, 2024
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01 Jul, 2019
Eating in season is always important. Aside from tasting wonderful, purchasing seasonal produce can even save you money . But there’s something about summer that makes shopping for produce even more fun. Maybe it’s the vibrant colors, the warm weather in the air as you shop, or the farmer’s market that quaintly sets up near your apartment this time each year. Whatever the reason, this is a great time of the year to think outside the box from your regular grocery list and pick up some of the season’s freshest produce. Here we list some of our favorites, how to pick them out, and a recipe to get you started! Strawberries : Strawberries are everywhere this time of year! Make sure to always choose bright red, firm berries and don’t wash them until you’re ready to devour. This will keep them at their freshest! We love featuring strawberries in desserts (and even on their own), but they make a surprisingly great addition to fresh savory dishes like salads. Give this Strawberry Salad with spinach and crunchy ramen noodles a try!
01 Mar, 2019
After an especially long and chilly winter, it’s no secret that us Chicagoans are excited for the arrival of spring. Besides the ability to dine al fresco and stroll the lakefront path without a parka on, this season also brings with it that common feeling of renewal. That means it’s the perfect time to rejuvenate your living space! Use these tips and tricks to put yourself on the pathway to feeling refreshed just as the flowers begin to bloom. Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Apartment One way to feel refreshed this spring is to participate in the ritual of spring cleaning within your apartment. Besides just following your normal cleaning routine, also tackle areas of your home that you don’t tend to as often. We’ve compiled a few of our favorite spring cleaning tips below, highlighting simple ways to refresh: Reusable Bags – not only are reusable bags good for the environment, but they also save us from paying that pesky plastic bag tax! As convenient as they are, though, these bags can collect bacteria from the food they hold. To wash, turn them inside out and toss them in the washing machine. Either allow them to air dry or select the appropriate dryer setting based on their material to finish the job.  Cutting Boards – sure, you wash cutting boards in between uses, but how often do you give them extra TLC? Sprinkle baking soda on top of boards then run a cut lemon over them to diminish tough stains and odors. Drains – shower and sink drains accumulate a gross build-up and sometimes even omit a less-than-pleasant odor. To freshen these up, pour a mixture of a half cup of baking soda mixed with a quarter cup of salt down each drain and then follow it up with a cup of hot white vinegar. Allow the mixture to sit for 15 minutes, then run hot water in the drain for about 30 seconds.
20 Nov, 2018
Thanksgiving week is here! It’s hard to hate a week that starts with only a few days of work and ends with pie and shopping. One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is returning home to family, enjoying a delicious homecooked meal, and then leaving with tons of foil-covered, tupperware-stuffed leftovers that can’t fit in your parents’ fridge. But what does one do with these specific holiday leftovers for the coming week? We’ve found a few new ideas for you to whip up in your apartment: Leftovers: Mashed Potatoes Leftovers Reimagined: Mashed Potato Pizza 
15 Nov, 2018
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26 Sep, 2018
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29 Aug, 2018
Fitness is an important (and essential) thing. The American Heart Association recommends anywhere from 150 minutes of moderate exercise to 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. To break it down, aiming for 30 min of movement 5 days per week helps decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke and improve cardiovascular health. For some people, this comes naturally. Waking up to sweat before work or winding down afterwards with a yoga class is something that becomes part of a person’s routine — but only if it’s something they enjoy. For others, exercise can seem like a daunting chore that is impossible to start or even schedule in the day. For those people, it’s important to find ways to enjoy fitness so that they are able to maintain it and incorporate it into their lives. If you’re in the second group, don’t lose hope. There are several tips and tricks that you can try to establish an exercise routine that you can stick to. Read on for some ways to enjoy fitness instead of dreading it. Find something you enjoy The actual activity you choose is crucial to you enjoying your workout. If you’re constantly forcing yourself to run when you hate running, you’re going to dread it and ultimately stop running at some point. Just because a certain class is all the rage doesn’t mean you’re going to like it. You need to find what works for you. Try different types of workouts — running, yoga, swimming, cycling, high-intensity classes — and see what you get the most enjoyment from. If you’re doing a workout you actually enjoy, chances are you’ll look forward to it the next time. Do it with friends My friends and I are on an email chain where we share with each other what our workouts are for the week and where we will be. If we can meet up with each other, it’s always much more fun than working out alone. Communicating has gotten me excited to try new things and even to work out on Saturdays which were normally reserved for sleeping in. Accountability is key when starting and maintaining a fitness routine. Having someone to go with you not only helps pass the time, but also helps ensure you make it there in the first place! Reward yourself after hitting a goal Set a goal for yourself. Maybe it’s to make it to just one class this week. Once you hit that goal, treat yourself to something like a manicure, new exercise apparel, or whatever makes you feel good about yourself. Once those early goals get easy to hit, try making them harder such as 3 or 4 classes a week or hitting certain strength or speed goals. One word of caution is not to reward yourself with food. Food and exercise can be tricky when locked into a reward system and can actually reinforce negative thought patterns in some people. Also remember not to beat yourself up if you miss your goal. Simply acknowledge it and try again! Find the right time for you Some people are morning exercisers and some people prefer to sweat in the evening. Try both and figure out which one you are. Working out at the appropriate time for YOU means the difference between an exciting workout and one where you are dragging and tired.  Ultimately, it’s important to find something you enjoy or the likelihood that you’ll want to continue is slim. Start out by trying to exercise one to two days a week. The better you feel, the more likely you’ll want to keep up the things that make you feel that way! If you’re looking for ideas or ways to mix things up, make sure to check out all our upcoming Reside Athletics events!!
19 Jul, 2018
One of the best parts about living in a Midwest metropolis like Chicago is that we still have access to fresh locally grown produce at farmers markets. They give us a wonderful opportunity to engage with our neighborhood community and support nutritious, locally grown foods. Here are our favorites in your neighborhoods offering delicious veggies, meats, cheeses and baked goods all summer long! 
18 Jun, 2018
Summer has finally made it to Chicago and the warmer temps mean we can finally plant those herb gardens! While you may be used to using herbs in your cooking, here are 3 refreshing cocktails that are sure to impress your friends this summer all using the herbs planted in your Reside Living herb gardens.
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