Mineola Hotel - Endangered Site Designation

This week, Landmarks Illinois announced that it has placed the Mineola Hotel of Fox Lake on its annual 10 Most Endangered Historic Places list. 

Mineola Hotel, 91 Cora Avenue, Fox Lake
Photo by Ed Gerns provided by Landmarks Illinois

“This dramatically-sited building is intimately tied to the history of the Chain O’ Lakes region,” said Bonnie McDonald, President of Landmarks Illinois. “We hope that someone will come forward and bring it back to its former glory so that it may contribute to economic development efforts in Fox Lake.”

Making it onto the 10 Most Endangered Places list is quite the coup in the long struggle to get the Mineola, built in 1884, restored and protected. Though this does not guarantee its preservation, having the recognition and backing of Landmarks Illinois greatly increases the odds.

Since the inception of Landmarks Illinois’ Ten Most list in 1995, more than a third of the listed properties have been saved, less than a quarter have been demolished, and the rest are in varying stages between being continually threatened and rehabilitation. 

For more on the history of the Mineola, check out my previous post. 

The Landmarks Illinois website has more details on the history of the preservation efforts to save the Mineola, and information on who to contact to get involved. 

Congratulations to the hardworking, enthusiastic folks of Save the Mineola! 

Mineola Hotel - The Lady of the Lakes

Posted June 3, 2011

In recent months, there has been talk of razing the legendary Mineola Hotel in Fox Lake. This would be a terrible loss for Lake County's heritage.

Mineola Hotel, 1913. Dunn Museum 96.12.2

For those unfamiliar with the grand dame, the Mineola is located at 91 N. Cora Avenue, Fox Lake, and was built in 1884 (or 1889) by the Mineola Club of Chicago (some have credited it to members of the Chicago Board of Trade). At the time, the Chain o' Lakes had a booming resort industry, due largely to increased access to the area by train. In 1882, the Wisconsin Central (later Soo Line) Railroad opened.

The 100-room hotel boasted of hot and cold running water, a beautiful natural setting, boating, fishing and hunting opportunities, all for the affordable rate of $2 and up per day. It is believed, but not confirmed that the hotel's veranda was designed by Alphonse Howe & Charles Caskey, the architects of the famed Grand Hotel on Michigan's Mackinac Island. The hotel was built as a private clubhouse for Chicago’s elite, but by 1891 it had been sold to Edson C. Howard, who remodeled it into a public hotel.

View of Fox Lake shoreline and the Mineola Hotel, circa1910. Dunn Museum 2002.12.3

As early as the 1910s, Fox Lake was known for its drinking and gambling establishments. The Chicago Tribune reported it was “…worse than in the levee districts of the city.” The situation in Fox Lake was in part due to Chicago’s efforts to “clean up” its own vice districts, which caused those districts to re-settle in the suburbs. The newspaper article added, “Probably the most vicious resort is the Mineola Hotel. All of the hotels are supplied with slot machines.”

During Prohibition (1920-1933), the lakes region became a notorious hangout for Chicago mobsters. The Mineola was reportedly a hideaway for Al Capone (1899-1947) and his gang, who could freely gamble and drink the nights away.

Reverse side of Mineola Hotel postcard, circa 1910. "I am up here for a week. Nice place and I'm having a good time. H. T. Webb." Dunn Museum 2002.12.3

In 1943, the Mineola was purchased by the Jakstas Family, who have owned it ever since. The family has fended off the bulldozers many times through the decades. One scare came in 1953, when a hotel guest set a fire on the third floor, which luckily was contained.

A decline in tourism in the early 1960s made it difficult to keep the business going, and by 1969, the Jakstas's were prepared to demolish the hotel, going so far as to sell off the original furniture. Mrs. Emma Jakstas was quoted by the Chicago Tribune, February 23, 1969: "We regret tearing down the hotel, but it is a real tinder box... It would be too expensive to remodel this mammoth place."

Peter and Emma Jakstas's son, Peter, was convinced the family should keep the building. They closed off the hotel portion to the public, but kept open the first floor restaurant and bar, and second floor banquet facility.

The Mineola is 225 feet long and four stories high, and is considered the largest wooden structure in Illinois. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The Register is the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation, and is administered by the National Park Service.

Postcard of Howard's Mineola Hotel, circa 1920. Dunn Museum M-86.1.345

Though it's been the dream of the Jakstas family to fully restore the building those efforts have been met with mixed success and much difficulty. After 68 years in the family's ownership, Pete Jakstas is considering retirement and the sale of the hotel, marina and surrounding 17-acres.

Photo of the Mineola from Chicago Tribune article, May 6, 2022.

Update: As of May 2022, the Jakstas property was under contract for purchase by developers. The historic Mineola Hotel will be razed and a new boutique hotel complex built "with aesthetic features from the original hotel" incorporated into the new building. Source: "Fox Lake Hopes to Bring Hotel to Mineola Lakefront Site" by Greg Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2022. 

- Diana Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org 

Waukegan Bachelors' Club

In 1891, a group of Waukegan businessmen formed the Waukegan Bachelors' Club—a men's club for social and "improvement" reasons. Members included the elite of Waukegan such as future mayor, Dr. William Pearce, banker Theodore Durst, general store proprietor George Warren, and county clerk Lew Hendee.

Lake County official, Lew Hendee, was one of many Waukegan Bachelor Club members. Shown here circa 1910. Dunn Museum 94.34.220

The founding members purchased property on the east side of Third Lake and built a clubhouse with eight bedrooms, a large gathering room with a piano, and a large kitchen.

  Opening Day photo, June 14, 1903. "Opening Day" was usually held on a Sunday in June. According to an invitation sent by Lew Hendee and other members, the event began at 4 a.m. and continued until it was "time to go to work the following day." The bachelors decided the fate of one of their own at that first meeting each year. According to Dr. Pearce, "a candidate was selected by ballot to make a proposal for marriage that year. Some took the verdict good naturedly, others became terror stricken, but before the year had elapsed they have, thus far, persuaded some trusting damsel to share their fortunes."

Bachelors and clubhouse at Third Lake, June 1908. Dunn Museum.

Even after the men married, they remained dues-paying members to help with the property taxes on the clubhouse. The club also held a Family Day when bachelors could bring their girlfriends, and the married men could bring their wives and children for a picnic. The bachelors hosted exclusive parties, but also spent a good deal of time outdoors fishing, boating, hunting, and even had a baseball team.

Bachelors playing baseball at their clubhouse on Third Lake, June 1908. Dunn Museum.

As time went on, more of the men married and interest in the club declined. In 1905, Lew Hendee ended his bachelor days by marrying Miss Lila Favor.

Waukegan Daily News, August 23, 1920. 

By 1920, only four of the original 25 bachelors remained single. With few regular members, the Bachelor's Club turned over the use of their Third Lake clubhouse to local Boy Scout packs. 

In 1922, a new subdivision was created near the Club's property on Sunshine and Lake Avenues. The site of the club was eventually sold and developed. 

- D. Dretske ddretske@lcfpd.org

The Era of Illegal Vices

As early as the 1910s, the Chain O' Lakes region, particularly Fox Lake, were known for their drinking and gambling establishments.

Shown at right is a real photo postcard of the Ingleside Buffet, circa 1910. Mr. Coleman, the proprietor, is most likely the man standing behind the bar.

During Prohibition (1920-1933), the lakes region became a notorious hangout for Chicago mobsters, including Al Capone's and Bugs Moran's gangs. The Chicago Tribune reported it was “…worse than in the levee districts of the city.”

The situation in Fox Lake was in part due to Chicago’s efforts to “clean up” its vice districts, which caused those districts to re-settle in the suburbs. The Tribune article added, “Probably the most vicious resort is the Mineola Hotel. All of the hotels are supplied with slot machines.” The Mineola is shown in its heydey in this V.O. Hammon Company postcard, circa 1920.

The 100-room Mineola Hotel was built in 1894 by Chicago businessmen. It is the largest wooden structure in Illinois, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is still in use today as a restaurant and banquet facility.

In the late 1930s, Lake County's board of supervisors appointed a Special Prosecutor to deal with the illegal gambling problem. Shown in this News-Sun photo from May 9, 1939, is Special Prosecutor, Charles E. Jack, (right) watching as workmen demolish 80 slot machines and pinball games in the yards of the Diamond Lake Junk Company. The News-Sun reported, "The machines were seized in a series of raids... to drive gambling out of Lake County. Jack filed his final report, announced the county clean, and ended his duties yesterday."

The Tenpin Game

Perhaps you've heard the saying, "If our town didn't have a bowling alley, we'd have no culture at all."

 Zion Bowling Lanes with Zion Hotel visible in the distance, circa 1955. Press Association Inc. photograph. Notice the contrast between the modern, streamlined bowling alley building and the historic Zion Hotel (built 1901) in the background. Dunn Museum. 

Bowling became hugely popular in the U.S. in the 1950s thanks to television. Broadcasts of “Championship Bowling” and “Bowling for Dollars" had wide viewership. 

Ninepin bowling was brought to the New World by European settlers. The origin of the tenpin game in the U.S. is unknown, but by the late 1800s it was prevalent in Illinois, Ohio and New York.

 
The Ackerman Hotel in the Fox Lake area, shown at left about 1930, was one of many local hotels that had a bowling alley. The Mineola Hotel in Fox Lake also had an alley in its basement.

I love the sound of bowling, the way the ball hits the pins with a crash. One of my clearest recollections of bowling as a child was on vacation with my family in the 1970s. I stood at the line and found my mark, swung my arm back, and the ball went flying off my hand and into everyone waiting their turn!

This bowling-themed purse is from the Museum's permanent collections. It was used in the Prairie View area (now Lincolnshire) around 1962, no doubt on bowling night.


Bowling alley at Fort Sheridan, circa 1970. (left)










The Women's Army Corps (WAC) bowling team, Fort Sheridan, 1959. From left to right: Master Sergeant Ruth Jacobs, Sergeant First Class Betty Bodell, Sergeant First Class Lydia Lambrecht, Major Ethel Martin, Sergeant First Class Marilyn Barahill.