The Pump Room Restaurant, inside the Ambassador East Hotel, was Famous for Catering to Mid-20th Century Celebrities.

Back in the 1930s, when people regularly traveled across the country via train, they usually had a 10-hour layover in Chicago. In later years, when celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and Phyllis Diller ended up in Chicago, they made a night of it; and dining at the famous Pump Room inside the Ambassador East Hotel, 1301 N State Pkwy, Chicago, was an essential part of that.

Booth One at the Pump Room, Chicago.

The Pump Room opened on October 1, 1938, by Ernie Byfield. At the restaurant, the biggest stars of the day had the ultimate social-status symbol waiting for them -- Booth Number One. Ernie Byfield, a famous hotelier, and restaurateur who would personally pick up celebrities at the train station. “This was the place where all the VIPs were,” says Rich Melman, who owned the restaurant in the 1970s and 1980s and ran it until June of 2019. 

Ambassador East Hotel - Pump Room, Chicago. 

“If they didn’t want to be seen, they wouldn’t go to the Pump Room.” Amenities included reserved seating in a cream-colored leather booth in the corner famously referred to as Booth One. The banquette was reserved only for the crème de la crème. Even if the wait for the restaurant was long, Booth One would remain vacant until a VIP worthy of it — such as Sammy Davis Jr. or Marlene Dietrich —arrived.

Liz Taylor at the Pump Room, Chicago. (1960)

Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood at the Pump Room in Chicago.

The table’s occupants also received access to a rotary phone connected directly to the booth so they could make and receive calls as they dined. “There was a private number that you could call to reach Booth One,” Melman says. “That wasn’t given out very often. But celebrities knew it.” Movie star Joan Crawford, who preferred to be left alone while dining, would place a call and then wrap the long cord across the table as a sort of caution tape to others in the restaurant. 

Marilyn Monroe at the Pump Room, 1959.

Phyllis Diller at the Pump Room, 1959.

Those who preferred face-to-face attention over a ringing phone would unplug it from the wall jack. “The phone was part of a big game,” Melman says. “Often people would pay what was considered big money in those days to be paged at the Pump Room.”

Carole Lombard and Clark Gable - between trains 1930s - in the Pump Room, Chicago. 

The Phil Collins 1985 album title "No Jacket Required" (Deluxe 2 hour  ed.) is a reference to an incident involving Collins and Robert Plant at the Pump Room restaurant in Chicago. Collins, who wasn't wearing a jacket, wasn't allowed in the restaurant because he didn't meet the dress code.

While the hotel and restaurant have cycled through multiple owners and face-lifts — and celebrities no longer have to layover in Chicago — Booth One has stayed alive. The last iteration of the Pump Room, a nostalgic restaurant that once drew celebrities, closed in 2017. After a substantial refurbishment, the Pump Room has been revived and renamed Booth One, complete with a rotary phone installed in its VIP booth. If a guest chooses, he or she could still use it while dining on beef Wellington and cheesecake — although Melman says, diners usually prefer to use their cell phones.

“We are trying to resurrect something that disappeared in Chicago for a while,” Melman says. “It’s the type of room that needs a lot of hand-holding, and for a time it didn’t get the attention it needed. It lost some of its luster.

After almost two and a half years in Gold Coast, Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises group, "Booth One" restaurant, inside the 285-room Ambassador Chicago Hotel, closed at the end of June 2019. 

THE PUMP ROOM TIMELINE

1926 The 285-room Ambassador East hotel opens in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood.

1938 Restaurateur Ernie Byfield opens the Pump Room Restaurant in the hotel.

2010 Real estate developer Ian Schrager—known for cofounding New York’s Studio 54—buys the Ambassador East for $25 million.

2011 Assets from the Ambassador East, including its famous rotary phone, are auctioned off as part of the hotel’s liquidation sale. The hotel is remodeled and reopens as Public Chicago.

2016 Schrager sells Public Chicago to investors Shapack Partners and Gaw Capital for $61.5 million.

2017 The hotel is renamed, Ambassador Chicago. Rich Melman’s Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises group, which formerly owned the Pump Room, returns to manage the space and renames it Booth One. After a remodel, the team installs a rotary phone at the famed table from which the restaurant now takes its name.

2019 Ambassador Chicago Hotel, closed at the end of the year. 

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

Chicago O'Hare International Airport UFO sighting occurred on November 7, 2006.

At approximately 4:15 PM on November 7, 2006, federal authorities at Chicago O'Hare International Airport received a report that a group of twelve airport employees was witnessing a metallic, saucer-shaped craft hovering over Gate C-17. 

A passenger photo shot from inside the terminal.

The object was first spotted by a ramp employee pushing back United Airlines Flight 446, departing Chicago for Charlotte, North Carolina. The employee apprised Flight 446's crew of the object above their aircraft. The object was also witnessed by pilots, airline management and mechanics. No air traffic controllers reported seeing the object, and it did not show up on radar.

Witnesses described the object as completely silent, 6 to 24 feet in diameter and dark gray in color. Several independent witnesses outside of the Airport also saw the object. One described a disc-shaped craft hovering over the Airport, which was "obviously not clouds." According to this witness, the object shot through the clouds at high velocity, leaving a clear blue hole in the cloud layer. The hole reportedly seemed to close itself shortly afterward.

According to the Chicago Tribune's Jon Hilkevitch, "The disc was visible for approximately five minutes and was seen by close to a dozen United Airlines employees, ranging from pilots to supervisors, who heard chatter on the radio and raced out to view it." There is no CLEAR photographic or video evidence of the UFO.

News sources report O'Hare UFO sighting.

Both United Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially denied that they had any information on the O'Hare UFO sighting until the Chicago Tribune, which was investigating the report, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The FAA then ordered an internal review of air-traffic communications tapes to comply with the Tribune FOIA request, which subsequently uncovered a call by the United supervisor to an FAA manager in the airport tower concerning the UFO sighting.

The FAA's stance concludes that the sighting was caused by a weather phenomenon and that the agency would not investigate the incident. According to astronomer Mark Hammergren, weather conditions on the day of the sighting were right for a "hole-punch cloud," an unusual weather phenomenon often mistakenly attributed to unidentified flying objects.

UFO investigators have argued that the FAA's refusal to look into the incident contradicts the agency's mandate to investigate possible security breaches at American airports, such as, in this case, an object witnessed by numerous airport employees and officially reported by at least one of them, hovering in plain sight, over one of the busiest airports in the world. Some witnesses interviewed by the Tribune were apparently "upset" that federal officials declined to further investigate the matter. NARCAP published a 155-page report on the sighting and has called for a government inquiry and improved energy-sensing technologies: "Anytime an airborne object can hover for several minutes over a busy airport but not be registered on radar or seen visually from the control tower, it constitutes a potential threat to flight safety."

The Chicago O'Hare airport UFO story was picked up by major mainstream media groups such as CNN, CBS, MSNBC, Fox News, The Chicago Tribune, and NPR.

On February 11, 2009, The History Channel aired an episode of the television show UFO Hunters titled Aliens at the Airport, in which they reviewed the incident.

Compiled By Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of Lazar’s Kosher Sausage Factory in Chicago.

After World War II Chicago’s Hollywood Park neighborhood underwent rapid development, attracting many Jewish families from the west side. You’d think they would have been thrilled that a family-owned business from the old neighborhood wanted to follow them to the north side, but Hollywood Park didn’t exactly welcome Sol Lazar with open arms.

Lazar wanted to relocate his business, Lazar’s Kosher Sausage Factory—a business he started in 1913 at 3612 West 12th Street (12th Street renamed Roosevelt Road on May 25, 1919)—to a large plot of land he owned in the North Park community.

Lazar’s Kosher Sausage Factory at 3612 West 12th Street, Chicago.

Sol Lazar built a new factory with a retail deli at the front of the building in 1958. It was located at 5511-29 North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago.

Lazar’s Kosher Sausage Factory at
5511-29 North Kedzie Avenue, Chicago.

On March 12, 1957, Nathan M. Cohen heard a case brought by Sol Lazar who sued to rezone the property on Kedzie to build a new pickle and sausage factory on his land. Willis W, Helfrich, CTA assistant Secretary, testified he could smell a "Nauseating" odor as far as 125 feet away when he visited the Roosevelt Road Location. Son Seymour Lazar told reporters the jars Helfrich brought and opened were from the garbage can behind the factory. 

Zeamore A. Ader, attorney for the Hollywood Park association, alleges that Lazar's Kosher Sausage Factory has been issued a building permit in December of 1957. Lazar said a permit had been issued and he plans to construct a factory on the premises for smoking and packing sausages.

In 1958 Lazar’s opened his modern facility at 5511 North Kedzie Avenue. (today, Northside College Prep High School is  located on the site.) In hindsight, Lazar may have been right about the impact of his plant being good for the neighborhood. Although the city originally zoned the east side of Kedzie south of Bryn Mawr for residential development, the small businesses and light manufacturing shops that eventually lined the street contributed to the economic stability of the neighborhood and lowered the population density of an already crowded area.

And the smell? I don't remember there being any smell, but that of cooked meat. My folks shopped at Lazars. The deli counter was on the left as you walked in. There were a few chairs on the right at the windows facing Kedzie. Lazar's was a busy butcher shop. We waited for our number to be called. My personal favorite was their 4 to a pound hot dogs -- or as they called them -- 'dinner franks.' They had a wonderful taste, unlike the bland Vienna hot dogs served by most Chicagoland hot dog joints. We'd also buy a whole beef brisket, which was our family's second-best meal, next to my Mom's roasted chicken on Friday nights.

Sol Lazar died at 76 on Sunday, June 9, 1969.

Sol Lazar’s daughter and her husband, who had worked at Lazar’s on Kedzie, uphold the legacy of Lazar’s Kosher Meats in Jerusalem, Israel. On the wall of the Jerusalem store are photographs of both Chicago Lazar stores; the first was on 12th street on the west side; the second was on Kedzie Avenue on the north side. 

Lazar’s Kosher Meats storefront in Jerusalem, Israel. (2015)

INDEX TO MY ILLINOIS AND CHICAGO FOOD & RESTAURANT ARTICLES.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Lincoln Village Theater was the last movie palace built in Chicago.

In August of 1968, Attorney Oscar A. Brotman (1916-1994) opened the 1,440-seat Lincoln Village Theater at 6101 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago. It was located in the Lincoln Village Shopping Center at Lincoln Avenue and  McCormick Boulevard in Chicago, about two blocks upriver from Brotman's shuttered and soon-to-be-demolished Tower Cabana Club (1955-1966) at Peterson and Jersey Avenues.

Brotman (President) had a partner, Leonard Sherman. In 1968, Brotman & Sherman Theaters, Inc. (Brotman also owned South Shore Amusements, Inc.) owned 14 Chicago area movie theaters, making it one of the largest local chains.

Lincoln Village Theater Grand Opening - Friday, August 2, 1968.

Reminiscent of Miami Beach Art Deco style, as was his Tower Cabana Club, the theater's brilliant white façade sparkled in the sunlight. Tall red neon cursive lettering atop the roof gave the building more height and retro flair. A man recalls seeing Lincoln Village Theater from the Church Street bridge over the North Shore Sanitary Channel, a distance of several miles. It was the last single-screen movie house of this size built in Chicago, the previous attempt at bringing 1920s-era glamour to the movie-going experience.

Lincoln Village Theater was just like some old-school, fabulous downtown Chicago theaters when downtown was beginning to lose theaters. The lobby was expansive and luxurious, lit by dramatic wall sconces and a working fireplace. There was a sunken seating area and fancy restrooms. A place to see and be seen.

Inside the theatre, extra-wide aisles led to extra-cushy seats. A wood-paneled balcony structure rose off the main floor. There wasn't a bad seat in the house, thanks to stadium-style seating.

It took nearly five minutes to move the gold fabric horizontally and vertically, floor-to-ceiling curtains, accentuating the glamour of the old-time live stage shows. You knew something big was about to happen.

No expense was spared on technical specs, either. The theater had a Cine-Focus 35mm and 70mm projection, a scope screen, and a six-channel stereophonic sound system.

The FLAT format is slightly smaller than 2 times wide and 1 times tall.
SCOPE format is somewhat broader than 2 times wide and 1 times tall.

The opening movie was 'No Way to Treat a Lady.' The same year brought 'Green Berets,' 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'The Producers,' and 'How Sweet It Is,' to the theater.

Lincoln Village Theatre was booked for a variety of acts as well as movies. In December 1968, Chicago's Royal European Marionette Theatre settled in for a weeklong run of its 'Wizard of Oz' play. The Brothers Zim Revue played for two nights. The Barry Sisters, four nights only. Mickey Katz, "America's favorite Yiddish comedian," played the Lincoln Village, as did Larry Best and Eileen Brennan. The live, closed-circuit telecast of the 1970 Cassius Clay-Jerry Quarry fight, one-half of the 'Double Dynamite' package, sold out in 45 minutes at $7.50 a seat ($58.00 today). 

SIDEBAR:

The 20-Minute Rule as it relates to film viewership, not just film criticism. Is 20 minutes enough time to consider a movie fully? When this topic came up, Roger Ebert often cited “Brotman’s Law,” named after Chicago movie exhibitor Oscar Brotman, which declared that “If nothing has happened by the end of the first reel, nothing is going to happen.” A reel of film is 1,000 feet, and about ten minutes when projected, but most movies are projected two reels at a time, which means “the first reel” is about 20 minutes — hence, another variation on The 20-Minute Rule.

Temple Beth-El, the former West Rogers Park Jewish congregation that outgrew its Touhy and Kedzie Avenue building, rented the theater for the Jewish High Holidays at the movie theater. In 1981, Temple Beth Israel (purchased land in Skokie at Howard and Crawford in May 1961) held its High Holiday services at the Lincoln Village movie theatre. Portable lighting was brought in to brighten the theater for services.

In 1981, Plitt Theaters purchased the Brotman & Sherman Theaters.

Under new ownership, the Lincoln Village Theater was partitioned into three oddly shaped boxes, then the building was razed around 2000. The site is new construction and is a Ross Dress For Less Store.

Chicagoland Movie Theaters Operated by Brotman & Sherman Theaters:

• Avalon Regal Theater, Chicago
• Capitol Theatre Capitol Theatre, Chicago
• Carnegie Theatre Carnegie Theatre, Chicago
• Cinema Theater Cinema Theater, Chicago
• Highland Park Theatre, Highland Park
• Highland Theater Highland Theater, Chicago
• Hillside Mall Cinemas, Hillside
• Lincoln Village Theaters, Chicago
• Loop Theater, Chicago
• Metropolitan Theatre, Chicago
• Oakland Square Theater, Chicago
• Oasis Drive-In, Des Plaines
• Parthenon Theatre, Hammond, Indiana
• Rhodes Theatre, Chicago

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The History of the Tower Cabana Club at 3209 West Peterson Avenue in Chicago. (1955-1966)

Attorney Oscar A. Brotman (1916-1994) movie theater chain owner (the Lincoln Village Theater was owned by Brotman-Sherman Theaters, Inc.), former ping-pong and swimming champion, brought his glitz and glamour vision of "Miami in Chicago" to the Hollywood Park neighborhood of the North Park community. Nothing remains of the Tower Cabana Club, but in its glory days, Brotman’s Tower Cabana Club was the swankiest spot around.

The entrance to Tower Cabana; show your pass and get a towel. (September 1961)

Setting the stage for fun in the sun.
In 1955, on a narrow, two-block strip of land, leased from the North Shore Sanitary Canal and overlooking the canal, a total of 6.75 acres east of Jersey Avenue on Peterson Avenue is where Brotman built his Tower Cabana Club.

The former Tower Cabana Club site.

NOTE: The McDonald's on the SE corner of Peterson and Jersey Avenues was next door to the Tower Cabana Club. It was the first McDonald's IN the city of Chicago (the first McDonald's in Illinois was in Des Plaines). It was opened by James E. Maros, and was an original red & white tiled, eat-out-side building, located at 3241 West Peterson Avenue. It opened in late 1955 and is still a McDonald's.

Brotman's family plan for "poolside living" was extensive, costing $300,000 in 1955 ($2,845,000 today). The club had a snack bar, a wading pool designed for the toddler set, day camp activities under competent instructors, and a playground area far enough away from the cabanas to ensure a little peace and quiet for parents. Outdoor dances were scheduled for summer evenings.

And at the end of the day, there's dancing. Dapper Dan Belloc's combo (they're the ones in the cool Bermuda shorts) provide the music while the high school set does the hokey-pokey. Every day is a busy one at the Tower Cabana -- and the teens have great fun, from early morning arrival until parents call a curfew -- or perhaps, join them for a swim.

Other activities included the Aquacade show; water skiing in the pool, surfboard ballet, daredevil diving. Dancing for teens with entertainers like Ralph Marterie, Lola Dee, David Carroll, Eddy Howard, Nick Noble, the Crew Cuts, Len Dresslar, Georgia Gibbs, and many other famous people have performed at Tower Cabana Club over the years.

David Garfield, 17, and Linda Silverstein, 13, enjoy a go at the shuffleboard court. From David's expression, it would be safe to assume that Linda is winning this one!

The slide that Dede and Dave are shooting down is different from those you see at most playgrounds. This one deposits the daredevils in the Water!

Brotman was warned about palm trees in Chicago's frigid cold winters, but he ignored the naysayers. He imported eight 35-foot-high coconut palms from Florida and had them planted in cement blocks and chemically treated to withstand cold temperatures. When the fronds turned brown and fell to the ground, Brotman had them spray-painted green and nailed back up where they belonged. Sometimes the leaves turned brown but didn’t fall off. “If they don’t fall off,” Brotman complained to a Chicago Tribune reporter, “how do they expect to get painted?”

Looking north at the Tower Cabana Club (circa 1958). Note the natural gas storage tank 1 mile north on Kedzie and Whipple. Sometime in the mid-1970s, the tank was being dismantled and it caught fire. You could see and smell the fire for miles.

A new device that is often helpful in teaching children to swim was called "swim trainer," which was an inflatable rubber bag that is strapped to the back and gives the learner confidence and helps keep him in position.

Sherwin Winer, Chief swim instructor at Chicago's Tower Cabana Club encourages Marty Scott to try the inflated device called "swim trainer."

Sherwin Winer lowers Lawrence Wolf into position. The "swim trainer" permits the free use of arms.

Sherwin Winer buckles the device on Deborah Witkin, while Marcia Omens watches. Marcia's type of float does not put her in a swimming position so easily.

Sherwin Winer takes off, while his class swims along in his wake.

With 150 cabanas available for rent, Brotman offered families a plan for “poolside living” at a private club. Besides the full-size pool, there was a wading pool, the Decoma Day Camp, and a playground, far enough away from the cabanas to ensure a little peace and quiet for the adults.

Decoma Day Camp had its swimming activities at the Tower Cabana Club starting in 1956. Uncle Deutsch (left) and Uncle Miltie (right) were Decoma Day Camp co-directors.

The Chicago Tribune loved Tower Cabana; the neighbors? Not so much!

Steve Citrin on the Tower Cabana diving board.

Steve Citrin on the high dive springboard.

Steve Citrin tries out the lifeguard post at Tower Cabana.

In August 1955, a two-page spread in the Tribune, “The Florida Idea of Fun Catching on in Chicago,” showcased the delights of the Tower Cabana Club.

Jack Citrin standing in front of the cabanas.

Rose Citrin playing Mah Jongg at Tower Cabana.

But it wasn’t all sun and fun and beauty contests. The club fought city and neighborhood opposition throughout its existence. The first case, a battle with City Hall over whether Brotman could build a commercial project on land leased from the Sanitary District, went to the Illinois Supreme Court.

The city of Chicago argued they had zoned the land for single-family dwellings, but the judge ruled the city didn’t have the right to zone Sanitary District property. Not to mention the land was 50 feet west of a waterway used to drain sewage from North Shore suburbs into the city. Brotman won round one on January 30, 1955.

Refreshment time -- and relaxing on the lounges -- at the same time picking up a little sun are Heddy Greenberg (left), Roberta Lakes, and Jay Dushkin, all 13-year-olds.

Lifeguard Ronald Gordon, 16, makes sure that 16-year-old Leslie Duboe is safe at one end of the pool. Safe? She's touching the bottom.

On April 21, 1955, the day after his inauguration as 40th Ward Alderman, Seymour Simon demonstrated a seasoned pro’s grasp of Chicago neighborhood politics. He asked the Department of Streets and Sanitation to barricade the Peterson Avenue driveways leading into the Tower Cabana Club’s newly paved parking lot. “I’m not trying to stop the project,” Alderman Simon explained to the Tribune. “I just don’t want to help.”

During the zoning battle, Hollywood North Park Civic Association (HPNCA) came into existence. Founded by Gerald Specter and other local residents for the purpose of blocking the construction of the club, HNPCA fought Brotman on several issues to preserve the neighborhood’s quiet character and its property values.

Cold weather brought more controversy.
In November 1955, Brotman came up with the idea of offering club members ice skating during the off-season. His was no ordinary flood the backyard plan; Brotman enlisted the engineers of the Burge Ice Machine Company to build an icy surface over the pool that would stay frozen even in 60° weather. The ice froze but outdoor lighting and piped music heated up the neighbors.

Merle Citrin skating at Tower Cabana Club. (November 1957)

In October of 1956, the Tower Cabana Club forms the first curling club in Chicago in over 50 years.

Brotman’s ingenuity as a set designer was once again evident in December 1956 with the transformation of the palm trees into 45-foot Christmas trees. “No one would ever guess,” Brotman told the Tribune, “that I had those eight evergreens hauled down from Michigan by special truck, lashed them as close as possible to the palm trunks and steadied them with guy wires.”

In March of 1957, Ald. Simon came to Tower Cabana Club again. He proposed an ordinance that prohibited ice skating rinks that operated after 9pm within 150 feet of homes. The proposal came after Simon claimed there were complaints by homeowners in the Jersey and Peterson area that "piped music, noise, and bright lights" from the Tower Cabana Club created a nuisance in the neighborhood. Brotman stated the ordinance also threatens some 122 rinks operated by the park district and the city. Also, threatened is the operation of outdoor theaters. Brotman pointed out that when the recreational facility was built in 1955, two years ago, there were only six homes on Jersey Avenue and since then some 40 homes have been built. "Most of the home owner's children, even Ald. Simon's, swim and skate at the club." Brotman argued. "I think Simon is misguided. A facility such as this should be encouraged."

Brotman won that round but lost the next one. His scheme to boost revenues by adding a golf driving range met with neighborhood disapproval. “A pool is one thing, but a golf range in a quiet area is ridiculous,” said Specter. “I don’t want to see neighbor's kids dodging golf balls.”

Specter and the HNPCA won the round of golf. The experience of challenging Brotman’s Tower Cabana Club served Specter well for a history-making battle nearly twenty years later.

In 1974, the city closed the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium, also located in Hollywood Park. The first Mayor Daley wanted to give the land to developer Harry Chaddick, who had plans for a shopping mall and high-rise apartment buildings. Specter and others fought to preserve the land for public use.

Specter was a huge player in keeping the Tuberculosis site out of the hands of commercial developers. He fought the Daley machine and won. As a result of the North River Coalition, the land occupied by the Municipal Tuberculosis Sanitarium became Peterson Park and North Park Village.

The end of an era.
In 1966 Tower Cabana Club went out of business and its facilities quickly deteriorated, helped along by nature and vandals. HNPCA begged for its demolition and in 1968 the Sanitary District finally obliged. They then leased the site for a dollar a year to the Chicago Park District and to this day it remains a free and open space with a bike/walking path.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.