Hotel Dreams: Luxury, Technology, & Urban Ambition in America, 1829-1929

Winner, 2012 Sally Hacker Prize, Society for the History of TechnologyWinner, 2012 Sally Hacker Prize, Society for the History of TechnologyHotel Dreams is a deeply researched and entertaining account of how the hotel’s material world of machines and marble integrated into and shaped the society it served. Molly W. Berger offers a compelling history of the American hotel and how it captured the public’s imagination as it came to represent the complex―and often contentious―relationship among luxury, economic development, and the ideals of a democratic society.Berger profiles the country’s most prestigious hotels, including Boston’s 1829 Tremont, San Francisco's world-famous Palace, and Chicago's enormous Stevens. The fascinating stories behind their design, construction, and marketing reveal in rich detail how these buildings became cultural symbols that shaped the urban landscape.