Leland Hotel
- Historic hotel
- In Springfield, Illinois
- 0.2 mi from Route 66
The Leland Hotel in Springfield, IL, is the downtown building where chef Joe Schweska is credited with serving the first horseshoe sandwich in 1928: toast topped with ham, cheese sauce and potatoes. The hotel closed in 1970, and the building now holds Springfield offices of the Illinois Commerce Commission. A plaque on its east side tells the sandwich story, a block or two from the downtown streets that carried Route 66.
What is Leland Hotel?
The Leland stands at the corner of Capitol Avenue and Sixth Street, a short walk from the old capitol square in downtown Springfield. For about a century it was one of the city's big hotels, close to the state government. Today it is an office building, not a hotel or a restaurant, so the draw for road trippers is the story and the plaque rather than a meal inside.
The dish itself is easy to find: many Springfield diners and taverns serve the horseshoe, along with a smaller version called the ponyshoe.
History of Leland Hotel
The first Leland went up between 1864 and 1867, built by local stockholders and leased to the New York hotel firm of Simeon Leland & Co., with Horace Leland as one of its local managers. It cost about $320,000, and much of its food came from the hotel's own farm in what is now Leland Grove. A fire in 1908 badly damaged the hotel, and it reopened in rebuilt form in 1911.
The usual sandwich story goes like this: in 1928 Schweska, a cook at the Leland, wanted a new lunch dish, and his wife Elizabeth helped him work out a cheese sauce in the style of Welsh rarebit. The name came from the ham, cut in a horseshoe shape; the fries stood for the nails and the hot platter for the anvil. A 1938 newspaper article said Schweska had been serving his sauce for six years, so the exact year is not certain. Fellow Leland cook Steve Tomko helped spread the dish to other restaurants. The hotel closed in 1970, and in June 2024 the city's tourism office unveiled the horseshoe plaque on the building.
Visiting Leland Hotel: tips
View the building from the sidewalk, since it holds state offices; the plaque is on its east side and makes a quick photo stop. The Virgil Hickox House stands a few steps away, and the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices are about 0.1 mile away. To taste the dish where it began, order a horseshoe or a ponyshoe at almost any local diner afterwards.
Practical info
- Address
- 527 E Capitol Ave, Springfield, IL 62701
- Phone
- +1 217-544-1656
- On site & nearby
Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix
Where to eat near Leland Hotel
All diners on Route 66 →
On the map
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Questions about Leland Hotel
Where was the horseshoe sandwich invented?
At the Leland Hotel in Springfield, Illinois, according to the usual account. Chef Joe Schweska is credited with first serving it there in 1928, with help from his wife Elizabeth on the cheese sauce. A plaque on the former hotel, unveiled in 2024, marks the spot.
Is the Leland Hotel still open?
No. The Leland stopped operating as a hotel in 1970. The building still stands at Capitol Avenue and Sixth Street and holds the Springfield offices of the Illinois Commerce Commission, so it can be seen and photographed from outside but takes no guests.
Why is it called a horseshoe sandwich?
The name comes from the ham on the first ones, cut in a horseshoe shape. The fries around it stood for the nails, and the hot metal platter stood for a blacksmith's anvil. Today the meat is often a hamburger patty instead of ham, and a smaller serving is called a ponyshoe.
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