The Eitel Brothers refers to a family of four brothers, Emil, Karl, Robert and Max Eitel, originating from

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

in Germany who, from 1894, were hoteliers and restaurateurs in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, USA. They were well known for the luxury hotel Bismarck Hotel and restaurants such as the Marigold Gardens and the Old Heidelberg Inn. Typically excluded is Albert Eitel, who remained in Stuttgart as an architect.

Overview

In 1890 Emil Eitel emigrated to the United States and settled in Chicago, amongst other German immigrants. In 1890 Chicago had about 160,000 and in 1900 about 170,000 residents of German ancestry, representing 15% and 10% of the total population ( #Hofmeister 1976, page 10). The heavily German population and the infrastructure built around the community of German immigrants greatly helped their business ventures to succeed. After Emil Eitel had made a start, he was followed by four of his brothers to Chicago: Charles in 1891, Robert in 1898, Max in 1901 and Otto in 1912. After his immigration, Otto Eitel (October 5, 1884 Stuttgart – May 5, 1972 Chicago), took over the responsibility for the hotel and garden facilities of the Bismarck Hotel. He later moved to California and worked as a landscape gardener. Albert Eitel remained in Stuttgart, though he is recorded as having visited in 1896 and 1924: * In 1896, he volunteered in the prestigious architectural firm of

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

, a leading figure in the Chicago School. * In 1924, Albert Eitel was in Chicago for creating the facade design of the Bismarck hotel together with the architectural firm

Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, inclu ...

and to plan the interior of the hotel. The brothers Emil and Karl founded in Chicago the

Bismarck Hotel The Eitel Brothers refers to a family of four brothers, Emil, Karl, Robert and Max Eitel, originating from Stuttgart in Germany who, from 1894, were hoteliers and restaurateurs in Chicago, USA. They were well known for the luxury hotel Bismarck Ho ...

and the Bismarck Gardens. Robert and Max Eitel operated several large restaurants, including the Old Heidelberg Inn and some fair restaurants. They were patrons of the

Chicago Symphony Orchestra The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...

and

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. In 1938, Emil Eitel donated to the Institute at least 17 lithographs and etchings, and in 1948, a calendar of

Regiomontanus Johannes Müller von Königsberg (6 June 1436 – 6 July 1476), better known as Regiomontanus (), was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance, active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrumental ...

from 1476. They were also active in local social clubs. In the wake of the World Wars Emil and Karl Eitel participated in relief efforts of the Red Cross for Germany.

Early life

The parents of the Eitel brothers were Emil Eitel and Charlotte Eitel ''née'' Trost. Trost gave birth to 11 children, out of which three died before their first birthday. Among those who survived six brothers Emil, Karl, Robert, Max, Otto and Albert Eitel, are known as the Eitel brothers. All the children of Trost who survived beyond their first birthday are listed below.

Emil Eitel

Main sources: #NCAB 1967, pages 510-511; #Leonard 1905–1917; #Sonntagspost 1929.1; #Amtsblatt 1953.1. Emil Eitel (February 27, 1865

– July 18, 1948

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) was a German hotel and restaurant contractor in Chicago. He was born as the first child of his parents, Emil and Charlotte Eitel, attended the trade school in Stuttgart, and served in the Army as a one-year volunteer before beginning, in 1885, to work in his father's factory on the production of photo albums.

Professional life

In 1890, Emil Eitel moved to the United States and settled in Chicago. He first worked as a clerk for the Chicago company "Bond's Commercial Agency". In 1891, as his brother Charles also came to Chicago, the two founded a wholesale wine and liquor imports business named "Eitel Brothers". During the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in 1893, the first Chicagoan World's Fair, they operated their first hotel in the vicinity of the exhibition grounds. The success prompted them to permanently turn to the hotel business. They took over the hotel "Germania" and renamed it "Bismarck Hotel". In 1894, they founded the ''Bismarck Hotel Company''. Emil Eitel presided as President and Chief Financial Officer until his death in 1948. Besides the hotel, the two brothers operated from 1895 to 1923 the Bismarck Gardens (later Marigold Gardens), a beer garden.

Personal life

In 1894, Emil Eitel married Emma Caroline Boldenweck (1868–1943), whom he had met in Stuttgart.

Karl Eitel

Main sources: #NCAB 1967, page 511; #Leonard 1905–1917; #Sonntagspost 1929.2; #Amtsblatt 1953.1. Karl Friedrich (Frederick) Eitel (January 17, 1871

– March 19, 1954

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

) was a German hotel and restaurant contractor in Chicago. He was the fifth child of parents Emil and Charlotte Eitel. After attending the high school in Stuttgart, he studied at the Königlich Württembergisches Technikum für Textilindustrie (Royal School of Textile Engineering of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

) in

Reutlingen Reutlingen (; Swabian: ''Reitlenga'') is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the capital of the eponymous district of Reutlingen. As of June 2018, it has a population of 115,818. Reutlingen has a university of applied sciences, which ...

Professional life

In 1891, Karl Eitel emigrated to Chicago and began collaborating with his brother Emil. After the founding of the Bismarck Hotel Company, he assumed the office of the Vice President and Secretary and after the death of Emil Eitel in 1948, the office of President. A year later, he retired, but remained joined to the company until his death in 1954 as honorary chairman. (On the history of the hotel and restaurant projects of the two brothers see Bismarck Hotel Co.)

Personal life

In 1896, Karl Eitel married his first wife Marieluise Boldenweck (1875–1913), a younger sister of his sister-in-law Emma. The marriage produced four children, among them Otto K. Eitel, who later became president of the Bismarck Hotel. In 1915, Karl Eitel joined in his second marriage Ann Schmidt (1884-1919), the daughter of a factory owner from Brussels, whom he had one daughter with. In his third marriage he joined Suzanne Schmidt (1888–1968), the sister of his second wife. From this marriage, he had three children. Karl Eitel took many years an active part in social and political life in Chicago. He died on March 9, 1954, in Santa Barbara at the age of 83 and was buried at the Santa Barbara Cemetery.

Max Eitel

Main sources: #NCAB 1967, pages 518-519; #Amtsblatt 1953.1. Max Eitel (September 29, 1882

– June 5,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

) was a German restaurant contractor in Chicago. He was born as the tenth child of his parents Emil and Charlotte Eitel.

Professional life

In 1901, Max Eitel emigrated to Chicago. He went into the accounting department of the Bismarck Hotel Company, owned by his brothers Emil and Karl. He returned to Europe, studying the hotel and restaurant industries of England, France, and the Netherlands. In 1904, he took a position in the newly built luxury

Hotel Astor Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th Stre ...

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

in New York, which was founded in the same year by the German emigrants William C. Muschenheim (1855–1918) and Frederick A. Muschenheim. There he volunteered for two consecutive years in various departments of the hotel. In 1906, he took over responsibility for the import business of his brothers, and soon thereafter the management of the beer garden Marigold Gardens, which also belonged to his brothers. Following the closure of the beer garden due to

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, in 1923 he and his brother Robert Eitel, founded the restaurant company Eitel Incorporated, with Robert as President and himself as Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. When Robert died in 1948, Max took over the presidency, which he held until his death. The Eitel Incorporated company included the following restaurants: * 1923–1943: Five station restaurants in the Chicago and North Western Railway Station. * 1933–1934: Fair restaurant ''Old Heidelberg Inn'' (2500 seats) on the second Chicagoan World's Fair (

Century of Progress A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositi ...

). * 1934: Fair restaurant in the German pavilion ''Black Forest Village'' (Schwarzwalddorf) on the same World's Fair. * Ab 1934: Old Heidelberg Inn at Chicago's formerly Broadway in Randolph Street. * Ab 1935: Eitel Field Building Restaurant]in Chicago's financial district. * 1936: Fair restaurant ''Black Forest Restaurant'' on the

Texas Centennial Exposition The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western Am ...

1936 in Dallas. * 1939–1940: Fair restaurant ''Ballentine Three Ring Inn'' (2000 seats) on the World's Fair in New York. See Eitel Incorporated for descriptions and illustrations of the permanent restaurants belonging to Eitel Incorporated. File: Weltausstellung New York 1939-1940, Speisekarte des Ballentine Three Ring Inn mit Plan, 01.jpg , Ballentine Three Ring Inn, World's Fair New York 1939–1940, menu.

Personal life

In 1911, Max Eitel married as his first wife, the widow Marie Heine née Bush (?–1934), the daughter of a German manufacturer, who bore him two children. In 1935, he joined in his second marriage, the widow Ella Gleich née Harder, the daughter of a German real estate agent. They had no children. Max Eitel died on June 5, 1954 in Chicago. Robert Eitel, 01

Robert Eitel

Main sources: #NCAB 1967, pages 518-519; #Amtsblatt 1953.1. Robert Eitel (June 16, 1877

– 1948) was a German restaurant contractor in Chicago. He was the eighth child of his parents Emil and Charlotte Eitel. In 1898, Robert emigrated to Chicago. In the 1920s, he was director of the Bismarck Hotel. In 1923, he founded together with his brother Max Eitel the restaurant company Eitel Incorporated and became its president. – On the history of the restaurant projects of the two brothers see Max Eitel, Business life.

Bismarck Hotel Co.

Bismarck Hotel (1894–1956)

Following the successful operation of their restaurant on the 1893 World's Fair, Emil and Karl Eitel bought an existing hotel, rebuilt it and renamed it the Bismarck Hotel. This hotel was replaced in 1926 by the construction of a large luxury hotel under the same name. A chronology of the Bismark Hotel:

Fair hotel (1893)

Chicago, Cottage Grove Avenue / Sixty-Third Street, . Due to the strong demand of its German and Austrian suppliers for accommodation for the first Chicago World's Fair 1893 (

), the Eitel brothers rented an apartment house near the fairgrounds and converted it to a hotel with 150 beds.

Old Bismarck Hotel (1894–1924)

Chicago, Randolph Street / Wells Street, . After the huge success of their fair hotel the brothers decided to set up a permanent hotel. They purchased the four-story Germania Hotel with 50 beds in Chicago's Loop district, at Chicago's formerly Broadway in Randolph Street and close to the financial district. Within one year they increased the bed capacity through the purchase of adjacent buildings to 100 beds. With the permission of the German Chancellor

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of J ...

they were allowed to call the hotel Bismarck Hotel. Due to the anti-German sentiment during the First World War the hotel was renamed temporarily to Randolph Hotel.

New Bismarck Hotel (1926–1956)

Chicago, Randolph Street / LaSalle Street / West Court Place / Wells Street, . In 1922, the Eitels realigned their property to the so-called Eitel Block, which covered the northern part of the block between Randolph and Washington Street and Wells and LaSalle Street. In 1924, they razed the buildings in the Eitel Block and built a skyscraper in 1925 and 1926. It consisted of the 22-story Metropolitan Office Building and the 19-story hotel wing which hosted the Hotel Bismarck with its 600 beds and the Palace Theater, which held 2500 seats. The famous Walnut Room ballroom hosted numerous big bands and orchestras during the late 1930s and 1940s including Art Kassel and his Kassels in the air whose performances were carried live every Saturday night on WGN radio in Chicago. The orchestra featured singer, Marion Holmes, who recorded several songs with them including one on Blue Bird Records that became immensely popular, "I'm a Little Tea Pot" in 1941. Marion met her husband to be during one such performance, Broadway/film/television star, Don DeFore. He was touring in Chicago starring in Broadway's number one comedy of the year, "Where Do We Go From Here." Growing Up in Disneyland" Waldorf Publishing 2019 by Ron DeFore ISBN 1643166263In 1956, Otto K. Eitel sold the hotel to the hotel and sports entrepreneur

Arthur Wirtz Arthur Michael Wirtz (January 23, 1901 – July 21, 1983) was an American entrepreneur. He was the founder of Wirtz Corporation, a holding company that owned Chicago Stadium, the Bismarck Hotel in Chicago, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the Chic ...

. After a period of slow decline, the hotel was closed in 1996, and reopened in 1998 by the Kimpton group under the name Hotel Allegro. File: Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, 1894-1924.jpg , Old Bismarck Hotel (until 1924), picture vor 1925. File: Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, 1894-1924, 01.jpg , Same, Main Dining Room, postcard 1905. File: Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, 01.jpg , Same, Main Dining Room (Walnut Room), picture 1926.

Marigold Gardens (1895–1923)

Chicago, 3760 North Halsted Street, . In 1895, Emil and Karl Eitel bought the popular beer garden DeBerg's Grove in the north of Chicago, rebuilt it, and called it Bismarck Gardens in line with their hotel's name. The gardens was themed after a typical German beer garden of the time, with daily outdoor music shows and the largest outdoor wooden dance floor in Chicago. Also built was the Marigold Room was used as a concert hall during winter. Reportedly, President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

described the Marigold Gardens even as a "national institution". Because of anti-German sentiment, the Bismarck Gardens were renamed during the First World War as Marigold Gardens. In 1923, the brothers sold the Marigold Gardens, due to

. File: Marigold Gardens, Chicago, 01.jpg , Beer garden with dance floor, picture before 1924. File: Marigold Gardens, Chicago, 02.jpg , Marigold Room, picture before 1924. File: Marigold Gardens, Chicago, 03.jpg , Beer garden with Swiss Chateau and Electric Fountain, picture before 1924. Eitel Restaurants Chicago, Anzeige, 01

Eitel Incorporated

Chicago and North Western Railway Station Restaurants (1923–1943)

Chicago, Clinton Street / Canal Street / Madison Street / Randolph Street, . From 1923 to 1943 Robert and Max Eitel operated five restaurants with bakery and laundry facilities in the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

station. The laundry performed also as a service provider for the

Pullman Company The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...

's sleeping cars.

Old Heidelberg Inn (since 1894)

Chicago, 14 West Randolph Street, . After the end of the first Chicagoan World's Fair, Max and Robert Eitel built on 14 West Randolph Street, the restaurant, the Old Heidelberg Inn. It had an old German facade and was decorated to resemble a Bavarian beer cellar. The restaurant housed at the ground floor the Grand Dining Room "Old Heidelberg" with a stage for the orchestra, the "Rathskeller" in the basement, the "Rialto Room", a bakery and a ballroom."The avenue was known as Chicago's Rialto. Lined with theaters, restaurants and nightclubs the lights along Randolph were as bright as the flickering bulbs and neon of New York’s Times Square."

).

Eitel Field Building Restaurant (since 1935)

Chicago, 130 South Clark Street, . In 1935, the two brothers opened the ''Eitel Field Building Restaurant'' in the newly built Field Building (Chicago), Field Building on 130 South Clark Street.. File: C&NW Terminal ca 1912.jpg , Chicago and North Western Railway Station, picture 1911.

Bibliography

Basics: #NCAB 1967; #Ashley 1947; #Navarro 2010.1.

General

* Fred J. Ashley: ''The house of Eitel. Aristocrats in hospitality'', Chicago 947? * ''Sechs Stuttgarter schrieben wichtiges Kapitel amerikanischer Hotelgeschichte''. In: ''Amtsblatt der Stadt Stuttgart'' no. 45, November 12, 1953, page 13. * ''Eitel Restaurants Chicago''. In: ''The Ludington Daily News'' Juli 31, 1935, page

* ''Eitel news, summer, 1934. About the restaurants operated by Eitel, Inc. both in downtown Chicago and on the fair grounds of A Century of Progress Exposition'', Chicago 1934. * Karl Götz: ''Brüder über Land und Meer. Schicksale und Geschichten der Ausgewanderten'', Bodman 1967, pages 114–115. * John William Leonard: ''The book of Chicagoans. A biographical dictionary of leading living men of the city of Chicago'', Chicago 1905, page 18

Chicago 1911, pages 211-21

Chicago 1917, page 21

* ''The national cyclopedia of American biography CAB', volume 41, Clifton, NJ 1967, pages 510–511, 518–519. * ''Emil Eitel''. In: ''Sonntagspost, Chicago'' September 29, 192

* ''Who Does Not Know Him? Karl Eitel''. In: ''Sonntagspost, Chicago'' Oktober 20, 192

Bismarck Hotel

* William R. Host; Brooke Ahne Portmann: ''Early Chicago Hotels'', Charleston, SC 2006, pages 33–3

* L.: ''New Bismarck-Hotel in Chicago. Moderne deutsche Einrichtungskunst in Amerika''. In: ''Innendekoration'' 38.1927, pages 254–272. * Meg McSherry Breslin: ''Bringing Back The Bismarck Hotel. Historic Inn’s New Owners Hope To Recapture The Past''. In: ''Chicago Tribune News'' January 10, 199

* Jennifer Navarro: ''Kimpton’s Hotel Allegro Chicago. Historical Background'', Chicago 2010, online onl

* Jennifer Navarro: ''Kimpton’s Hotel Allegro Invites Guests to Step into the Limelight. Historic hotel welcomes travelers with red-carpet treatment'', Chicago 2010, online onl

* Wolfgang Pfleiderer: ''Neue Werkkunst. Architekt Albert Eitel Stuttgart'', Berlin 1929, Tafel 38–40. * Frank Alfred Randall; John D. Randall: ''History of the Development of Building Construction in Chicago'', Urbana 1999, page 31

* Charles A. Sengstock: ''That Toddlin’ Town. Chicago’s White Dance Bands And Orchestras, 1900-1950'', Urbana 200

* ''New Yorker Staatszeitung und Herold'' November 12, 1953.

Sources

* Address books of the City of Stuttgart, :de:Stadtarchiv Stuttgart, Stadtarchiv Stuttgart. * ''Ehrung eines Schwaben in Chicago''. In: ''Amtsblatt der Stadt Stuttgart'' Juli 2, 1953. * ''The Chicago Blue Book of selected names of Chicago and suburban towns. Names and addresses of prominent residents, arranged alphabetically and numerically by streets; also ladies’ shopping guide, street directory, and other valuable information. For the year ending 1890...1915'', Chicago 1889...191

* Familienregister der Stadt Stuttgart, volume 19, sheet 875 (Jakob Gottfried Emil Eitel), volume 1, sheet 1080 (Christian Friedrich Eitel), volume 10, sheet 781 (Johann Friedrich Trost), Stadtarchiv Stuttgart. * ''The one hundredth anniversary of Germania Club, 1865–1965. A century of German-American traditions, civic responsibility and ideals'', Chicago 1965. * Christiane Harzig: ''Germans''. In: ''Encyclopedia of Chicago'', Chicago 2005, online onl

* Rudolf A. Hofmeister: ''The Germans of Chicago'', Champaign, IL 1976. * ''...ster Jahresbericht Schwaben Verein Chicago, Kassenbericht und Mitgliederverzeichnis'', Chicago 1922...1937. * ''Schwaben Verein von Chicago. Festschrift zur 50sten Stiftungsfeier. 31. März 1878–31. März 1928'', Chicago 1928. * ''Eitel Brothers face U. S. action under dry law''. In: ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' January 7, 1920.

References

External links

* Foreign Language Press Survey, about the Eitels in German-speaking US newspaper

* Chicago Historical Society, Research Cente

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