My daughter and I stayed at the historic old Palmer House in downtown Chicago. Built in 1871 by wealthy Chicago business magnate Potter Palmer as a wedding gift to his new bride, Bertha Honoré, the original Palmer House burned to the ground in the great Chicago Fire thirteen days after opening. The second Palmer House was built across the street from the original hotel and opened in 1873, after being funded by a $1.7 million loan, which Potter Palmer negotiated on his signature alone. Since that time, the Palmer House has never closed, making it one of the oldest continuously operated hotels in the United States. It has been through several restorations, including the most recent one which took over 2 years and cost $170 million. It is truly a grand hotel and perhaps the most striking feature is the lobby which I am showing you here today. The lobby ceiling of 21 Grecian paintings was installed in the early 20th century by French muralist Louis Pierre Rigal. He used a vegetable-based paint on the ceiling, two stories above the floor.
24 comments:
The colour alone is spectacular, Lois, that alone the intricacy of the design. Your photo makes it immensely warm and welcoming.
Looks very much like a french palace, 18th or 19th century. Truly magnificent.
Fancy, fancy "digs" during your stay in Chicago, Princess Lois!
I agree, very fancy indeed!! Hope you wore layers today!!!
Stunning!
Absolutely beautiful. Such amazing detail.
Sunny :)
Very grand!
Fancy hotel, gorgeous decorations: the statue-chandelier looks like a strange goddess!
WOW!
Beautiful lobby, you could get a sore neck looking up at that.
Perfectly captured opulence. . .
Oh my goodness - that's divine. The interior is even fancier than the Ponce de Leon - that's my reference pt these days. How nice you stayed there - I enjoy staying (or at least visiting) the grand hotels in different cities.
Fantastic photos of a gorgeous room! Beautiful light too.
Sure looks grand!
Grandiose! That's for sure.
It must be a treat for the eyes to walk through the Palmer House.
Walking on the Ledge must be an experience to be compared to jumping from an airplane with a parachute of course :)
That's a beautiful ceiling.
Sydney - City and Suburbs
Lois, that is one beautiful Hotel. You really stayed in that place? Must have cost a arm and a leg to stay there. Looks real fancy. Probably more than what we could afford. Hope you enjoyed it.
Les
What magnificence! Did you wear your tiara?
A very lovely hotel indeed - dig that wonderful ceiling.
Cheers.
Melbourne Daily Photo
That is one gorgeous looking hotel lobby.
Lovely building, nothing but the best eh! We have a Hilton in Leeds and it is so ugly I have yet to take a photo.
Beautiful celling :)
Wow! That's beautiful. That must have been a great place to stay.
It is a beautiful place! I think you caught the lobby better than I did too. :)
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