Hotel Dreams

Molly W. Berger is the associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and an instructor of history at Case Western Reserve University. She is the editor of The American Hotel, an award-winning volume in The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts series.

A rigorously researched and elegantly written study of the role of the hotel in shaping and embodying ideals of progress, luxury, and technology in a consumer capitalist society. Berger's monograph is a welcome contribution to the growing scholarly literature on the history of hotels in modern America, and is a must-read for scholars of business history, the history of technology, architectural and urban history, and the history of consumer culture. American Historical Review [Berger's] nuanced interpretation of technology makes her work so important to design historians... Hotels have served as realms of the fantastic that permit guests to escape the everyday and enter into a world of dreams where service and splendour define new experiences. It is this dream world that Berger successfully evokes in this important book and others should follow her lead by exploring this remarkably rich topic. Journal of Design History A salutatory and important book. Hospitality & Society Journal A worthwhile addition to the growing scholarly literature on hotels. Journal of American History In a relatively compact study, Berger has provided a rich, revealing portrayal of her subject that is likely to remain a basic source for scholars examining the history of the city no less than of the hotel itself for some years to come. Journal of Social History Complements and expands on A.K. Sandoval-Strausz's Hotel. Choice A very informative and entertaining read. Past In Review

• Introduction1. The Emergence of the American First-Class Hotel, 1820s2. The Tremont House, Boston, 18293. The Proliferation of Antebellum Hotels, 1830–18604. The Continental Hotel, Philadelphia, 18605. Production and Consumption in an American Palace, 1850–18756. The Palace Hotel, San Francisco, 18757. The "New" Modern Hotel, 1880–19208. The Stevens Hotel, Chicago, 1927ConclusionAcknowledgmentsNotesEssay on SourcesIndex