The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-08-08
OLD HOTELS AND HOTEL MEN.
Reminders of HosteIries I'm Chicago'i
no. Early Days.
(Ftdm the Chicago News

!
(Ftdm the Chicago News)
In 1886 Ira and James Couch came to
Chicago and opened little mems furnish
iDgs and tailor shop. after a short time of
/, selling fruit and the like on the streets.
Ira was a tailor by trade, but James, six
years the elder. had been "keepin' tavern"
down in York State. Alanson Sweet had
just built the little three-story frame
building he dignified by the name of Ire
mont House in 1882. had grown tired OF
the business. and was looking for some
one to take it OFF his hands
So the two Couches sold out their shop
and leased the hotel. They were econom-
ical, made and saved money and in 1888
were able to buy the property, which. after
nun. erous vicissitudes. is still in possession
OF he Couch family October q, 1888, the
old house burned down and was rebuilt
with Chicago promntitude. being opened in
May, 1870 This. like its predecessor, was
three stories high. but it covered 80 feet
on Lake to 100 on Dearborn, and was on its
present site, the older house being on
part of the ground which is now under
the Commercial.
In those days the steamboats, used to
bring 200 or 500 persons every voyage ard
business was booming The only rivals
we're the Lake House, which was a fine
three-story brick building, erected in 1855,
occupying a block on Michigan Street, be-
tween kinzie and Rush, at cost Of
100000. This saw its prime in 1888 when
George E. Shelly. a man with Baltimore
training, took charge. He had Ffancb
bills of fare, all the Injuries OF the season
including sea food, and did the thing in
style. But its location was against it, and
from 1858 until the great fire it was used
as a fat building the first Of its kind in
the West The Sherman was hardly
rival in those days and was still known as
the City Hotel.A
The second fremont was the most promf-
nent building In town for q time. its
dining room being the combined lecture
hall and ballroom OF the new city. II was
here that Patti sung, and it is said that
James Couch, who never saw the use of
having anything done for him tnat he
could do himself, lighted the Of lamps
which served as footlights for the per-
Torrance, The audience could not resist
the temptation to applaud him for mis-
dexterity. whereupon he placed his thumb
to his nose and twiddled his fingers in the
most approved style of hobbledehoyhood.
On July q, 1S49, the house was burned
again. In its stead arose a building so
magnificent that ii was called Couch
Folly" until the. rapid growth of Chicago
justified his business sense. 1t had FIVE
stories and a half, with a cupola on top,
and the papers OF the day spoke of its
decorations as '.princely" and Sin the
highest style of art
Meantime Frank Sherman rebuilt the
Sherman House into five-story structure.
which made it rival of the fremont to
certain extent. In 1853 David A Gage and
George w. Gage. his brother, took the
management of the fremont, and two
years later John B. Drake entered the firm
The Cages were prominent in the history
of Chicago for years, David being a Demo-
crat and George Republican, and both
looked up to their respective parties
In 1861 the Sherman, wholly rebuilt, was
opened to the pu5iic In the office was
John A. Rice. as clrrk, and it is recorded
that he was the first hotel clerk in the
United States to be paid a salary of 81 500
year-not bad salary today. for it in
cluded board, lodging. and laundry besides
the cash. In those days the clerks fol-
lowed custom as old as tavern keeping
andwent into the pantry to carve for din
ner. Carving is coming to be a lost art,
but Rice could stick his fork into a turkey.
rest his elbow on the table with the bird
in the air AID never put it down until his
skillful carving knife hed stripped it of all
its flesh and disjointed all its bones.
The fremont House was remodeled to
keep pace with the new Sherman, and the
first elevators known to Chicago were IN
lHeSt HOlelS NO HelBnt was carried in
them. and sturdy porters used to shout
der the largest trunks and carry them up
five or six floors without a murmur. II
seems like Misunderstanding labor, but two
of the porters of these old hotels are still
alive and hearty In Chicago. When the
elevator was desired by a guest he used to
call down the shaft after It, supplement-
ing his voice by striking the wire door
with the heavy tag of the key to his room
The elevators were lighted with oil lamps,
and 1t was Mrs. John A. Rice who first
suggested the use of rubber tube to Lire
gas into the moving cab. All the bells In
the house were rung by wires, and the
long-tasseled bell pulls in every room and
the wires running along near the ceilings
in the halls were features of every hotel of
the day. Most OF these wires went up IN
der the roof of the hotel before being car
ried down to the office, and 1t was Mrs
Rice, also. who first devised the plan Of
running wires frcm every floor through a
tube to the elevator. permitting a bell TO
be struck and pointer set when the e;a-
vator was needed at any particular floor
But the table was as good as 1t is now
in any OF the frst-class hotels and there
was an even greater variety Late dinner
was still novelty, however, and the meals
were generally earlier