MAGNIFICENT MILE — The Cape Cod Room, a fixture in the Drake Hotel for nearly 96 years, is closing down Jan. 1.
The hotel off the Mag Mile is shutting down its signature seafood restaurant as it prepares "comprehensive renovations" to its ground-floor retail and 535 rooms, a spokeswoman said. Many of the Cape Cod Room's signature dishes will be moved to the hotel's Coq D'Or nearby after a farewell New Year's Eve dinner, but the closure still marks the end of an era.
The restaurant at 140 E. Walton Place opened on New Year's Eve 1920, and was the seafood destination Downtown for decades. Newlyweds Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe carved their initials into the restaurant's bar when they visited in 1954:
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The hotel's renovations are set to last till 2019, said Lynda Simonetti, a spokeswoman for the Drake. The project's cost and what exactly will replace the Cape Cod Room have yet to be determined, she said.
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