Palmer House Hotel - Historic Hospitality

Stop on Historic Chicago Loop Walking Tour, a free self-guided tour.

Walk south on State Street to the Palmer House Hilton at 17 East Monroe Street, Chicago's oldest continuously operating hotel since 1873. Potter Palmer built the original hotel as a wedding gift for his wife Bertha, opening just 13 days before the Great Chicago Fire destroyed it. Palmer immediately began rebuilding, creating a fireproof structure that reopened in 1875. The current building, the third Palmer House, was built in 1925-27 by Holabird & Roche. The lobby features an ornate ceiling with frescoed panels by French artist Louis Rigal, crystal chandeliers, and marble columns. The hotel is allegedly where the brownie was invented in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition. The Palmer House hosted presidents, celebrities, and business leaders, serving as Chicago's premier hotel for over a century. The building's 25 stories combine commercial offices with hotel rooms, a common early 20th-century design. The hotel represents Chicago's resilience after the fire and the Palmer family's confidence in the city's future. Underground passages connect the hotel to other Loop buildings, part of the Pedway system. The Palmer House exemplifies grand hotel design from Chicago's golden age when State Street rivaled any shopping and entertainment district in America.