Historian recounts Queen Elizabeth II's 1959 visit to Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) – In her seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II made several trips across the globe, and she always left a lasting impression.
Among those trips was one to Chicago in 1959. CBS 2's Asal Rezaei told us about the queen's arrival at Buckingham Fountain near where she arrived all those years ago.
City leaders welcomed the queen in the summer of 1959 with a big parade for what would be a 13-hour trip to Chicago.
A look back in time showed Queen Elizabeth II being welcomed to Chicago by then-Mayor Richard J. Daley on July 6, 1959. While the Chicago History Museum no longer has items from her trip on display, chief historian Peter Alter said they are being stored and carefully archived.
"In our collections in storage, we have the red carpet, that the queen and Mayor Daley walked down on their way to have dinner at the Conrad Hilton Hotel," Alter said.
While on a trip to Canada, the Queen and Prince Philip stopped for a visit to Chicago after opening the St. Lawrence Seaway, a major inland route for shipping that included the Great Lakes. She was greeted at what is now known as Queen's Landing near Grant Park with a big welcome ceremony and parade.
"I think any Chicagoans who were around in 1959, they might remember the parade, a huge parade. Thousands of people were out to see it," said Alter.
The queen did not stay a full day, but still managed to get in quite the itinerary in just 13 hours.
"A major lunch, a major dinner, two museums, a trade fair, and a parade!" said Alter. "So one thing after another for her."
She visited the Museum of Science and Industry along with the Art Institute. She had lunch at the Ambassador East Hotel, then a banquet and lavish dinner hosted by Mayor Daley Sr. at the Hilton Hotel.
The Queen's arrival to Chicago came during the first decade of her reign.
"She was only roughly seven years into her reign, so still a very young couple," said Alter. "Very well-known, very fashionable at that time in the late 1950s, so definitely people wanted to see them and breathe in that royal aura we often associate with the British Royal Family."
The Chicago Hilton & Towers, just across from Grant Park, has the well-known Imperial Suites, originally named after Queen Elizabeth II in 1955 even before her trip to Chicago.
That history and those memories hold a deeper meaning with the queen's death.
