Alan Jacobs


where have you gone, Hamburger University?

#

I just spent a few days in Chicagoland, visiting dear old friends and my very dear son. I got a deal from Expedia and stayed at the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, which used to be a hotel owned by McDonald’s as part of the Hamburger University campus. But Hamburger University is no more. (At least, not in Oak Brook.) 

If you walk around the site you see immaculately-tended grounds: 

IMG 2625

And the buildings are well-kept also: 

IMG 2626

Very mid-century modern. But as you look closer you see that the buildings are totally empty: 

IMG 2627

IMG 2634

Rather disconcerting. The property has been purchased, and its billionaire owner appears to have undisclosed plans for it. But nothing is happening at the moment, and around the edges things are starting to look a little shabby. 

I think it would be an ideal location for The School for Scale. Just saying.