Today we couldn't find anywhere to have lunch, so we decided to go to the Hilton... not the cheapest option (even the small cafe where we sat), but it was cool inside. Georgie was quite happy with our choice, as you can see from the photos. The lobby is quite impressive, don't you think?
The Hilton is hosted in what used to be "Palmer House". There have been three Palmer House Hotels in Chicago. The first (known as "The Palmer") was built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer to his bride Bertha Honoré. It opened on September 26, 1871, but burned down just thirteen days later during the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Palmer immediately set to work on a second 7-floors hotel designed by architect John M. Van Osdel. It was completed in 1875. By the 1920s, the business in downtown Chicago could support a much larger facility and the Palmer Estate decided to erect a new 25-story hotel. They hired Holabird & Roche to design the building. Between 1923 and 1925, the hotel was rebuilt on the same site (in stages, so not a single day of business was lost). At the time it was touted as the largest hotel in the world. Still today, it looks massive.
(L)
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