The Palmer was originally built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer, one of the owners of Palmer Industries, to his bride Bertha Honoré. It opened on September 26, 1871, but burned down just 13 days later on October 9, 1871 in the Great Chicago Fire.
Palmer then immediately set to work rebuilding, and with a $1.7 million signature loan(believed to be the largest individual loan ever secured at that time), constructed one of the fanciest hotels worldwide in post-fire Chicago.
Inspired by her French heritage, Bertha filled the Palmer House with artistic treasures, including the world-famous lobby topped with a magnificent ceiling of Grecian frescoes by French muralist Louis Pierre Rigal. Tiffany brass door handles, wood hinges and hardware throughout the hotel, and Bertha’s signature French Havilland bone china are amongst the hotel’s jewelsThe lobby’s Tiffany 24-karat gold chandeliers and majestic “Winged Angels” – weighing in at 1.25 tons each – are famousIn October 2006, the Palmer House was named a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America (HHA) for faithfully maintaining its historic integrity, architecture and ambiance. As one of twenty-six surviving grand hotels in the United States, The Palmer House was chosen.The hotel has 7 beautiful ballrooms, the largest accommodating 1,200 for banquetsYou have a choice of two bars on the lobby level: the sophisticated Potter’s or the elegant Lobby BarIt’s first registered guest was on November 8, 1873In 1996, for the hotel’s 125th anniversary, acclaimed art restorer Lido Lippi restored the Palmer House ceiling art. He was known as a lead restorer of the Sistine Chapel paintingsAt the top of the stairway in the Palmer House foyer are “Romeo & Juliet”, a statue that has greeted Palmer House guests since 1924Nearly all U.S. Presidents, Charles Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Buffalo Bill and Prince Charles have all stayed at the Palmer HouseThe 1875 hotel building stood until 1925 when a 25-story updated Palmer House was constructed for $20 million on the same and current downtown Chicago Loop site. This is the hotel building that stands today
