Congress Plaza Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
The Congress Plaza Hotel opened in 1893 in preparation for the World’s Columbian Exposition and was then expanded to its current size by 1907. It features nearly 900 guest rooms and suites.
The hotel has had many famous visitors and continues to be a destination of its own for history buffs. Several U.S. Presidents have roamed its corridors, including Teddy and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Grover Cleveland, Calvin Coolidge, and many more.
Teddy Roosevelt even famously stayed at The Congress in 1912 while the Republican National Convention was being held in the city. He was campaigning for the presidency at the time and spoke from the balcony of his room to a crowd on the streets below.
The hotel also provided temporary lodging to some famous gangsters of the day as well, including Al Capone, who had a long-term suite in the north tower. His spirit is said to walk the halls, perhaps lamenting all the misdeeds of his life.
Even spookier is the story that The Congress served as a base of operations for America’s first known serial killer, Dr. H.H. Holmes. It is said he preyed on young ladies in the hotel lobby with promises of employment in his pharmacy and then whisked them away to his home, never to be seen again.
And drifter Peg Leg Johnny, who died at the hotel, likes to have a little fun with overnight guests, reportedly turning lights on and off at inopportune moments and actively roaming the towers.
If you’re a thrill-seeker, you may want to book Room 441. The most calls for security in the entire city come from this room and is considered the hotel’s “hot spot” for paranormal activity. The room supposedly comes with a female guest who has long overstayed her welcome and likes to kick the bed to wake up intruders who dare stay in “her” room.