Was it an inside job? Or was it the work of diabolical (but likely very well-dressed) Pump Room diners — only ones with darkly larcenous hearts?
I mean, who else would have the nerve to swipe the telephone that long resided in the original Pump Room’s Booth One — used almost daily by the late, great Sun-Times columnist Irv Kupcinet and his wife, Essee, as well as all the famous celebrities who dropped by the Pump Room back in the day.
Yet that’s the sad state of affairs. The owners of the new Pump Room in the Public Chicago Hotel (the reincarnation of the old Ambassador East) confirm the phone has indeed gone missing.
Pump Room management is offering a reward dinner for four IN Booth One for any information that will lead to the return of the phone.
Come on people! This is a Chicago popular culture icon. Let’s get it back!