The Hotel Alcazar in Chicago. A "Green Book" Approved Hotel for Negro Guests.

Hotel Alcazar, 3000 Washington Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois. — Tel: VAn Buren 6-7500 (826-7500)

The Hotel Alcazar on Washington Street at Sacramento Avenue in Chicago. 1920s

The Hotel Alcazar was one of the businesses listed in the "Green Book" in 1961-1964 and 1966-1967. In the June 1963 Ebony magazine, Hotel Alcazar was listed with 200 newly furnished rooms with private baths.

The Hotel Alcazar Lobby

The Hotel Alcazar Lobby, 1965

The first edition of the Green Book, officially known as the "Negro Motorist Green Book," was published in 1936, initially as a guide solely to the New York City metro area. 

The popularity of that inaugural issue prompted publisher Victor Hugo Green to expand the Green Book to cover the entire U.S., and eventually destinations outside the country. Aside from the years 1942-1946, when the publication was suspended during World War II, editions were released annually until the final double issue of 1966-67. 

By the mid-1960s, the final issues of the Green Book included listings for previously whites-only hotels including the Conrad Hilton, the Ambassador East, and the Ambassador West, and the famous, 5-star, Drake Hotel.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.