Shoreland Hotel - 1925 dated $100 6 1/2% Gold Bond

$100 6 1/2% Gold Bond printed by Central Bank Note Company, Chicago. 12 coupons remain. The Shoreland is a historic hotel located in the Hyde Park area of Chicago, Illinois. It was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Originally opened in the 1920s, the hotel provided luxurious accommodations for its guests. Subsequently, it served as a residence hall for the University of Chicago for many years before being transformed into an apartment building in 2013. The Shoreland Hotel was inaugurated in 1926 by Harry Fawcett, who reportedly invested $2 million solely on furnishings. The hotel featured 1,000 guest rooms spread across 13 floors, a crystal ballroom, a spacious banquet hall with a high-quality restaurant, and an impressive lobby with ceilings reaching 30 feet. Its terra-cotta façade was adorned with gargoyles and intricate stonework. The venue hosted numerous wedding receptions and social events for Chicago's elite, including a grand banquet celebrating Amelia Earhart's triumphant return to the Hyde Park neighborhood in 1928, where she had attended high school. Additionally, Al Capone was known to conduct his "business" in certain rooms of the hotel. In the 1950s, Jimmy Hoffa maintained a room there and frequently held lively union meetings. According to accounts, one of Hoffa's associates assaulted the hotel manager, Maurice Bellows, in the lobby after he requested payment of a debt owed to the hotel. At that time, Marge Bellows was the owner of the Shoreland, making it the largest hotel in the country under female management. Another prominent resident was Milton Friedman, who occupied rooms at the same time as Hoffa. Elvis Presley also spent several nights at the Shoreland.