Page 158 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

THE CHICAGO ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION HOTEL

BY BRIAN E. CLARK A WINDY CITY CLASSIC

ith its arched, criss-crossed win-
dows and Venetian Gothic design
W reminiscent of the resplendent
Doge's Palace in Venice, Italy, the Chicago
Athletic Association (CAA) hotel looks like it
could be right at home fronting the Piazza
San Marco.
But it's not on the Laguna Veneta, which
links La Serenissima (one of the many so-
briquets for Venice) with the Adriatic Sea.
Rather, it's on the Windy City's busy
Michigan Avenue, right across the street
from Millennium Park with its shiny, bean-
shaped Cloud Gate sculpture, the Crown
Fountain and the Pritzker Music Pavilion.
The Art Institute of Chicago is just a long
block away as well. And Lake Michigan is
another short walk.
Which makes the hotel an ideal spot to
base a visit to the City of Broad Shoulders,
especially if you are a fan of architecture
and Chicago history, to say nothing of
craftsmanship of late 19th Century German
carpenters and Italian mosaic artisans.

158 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2025