Palmer House

The first Palmer House had been open for only thirteen days when the Great Chicago Fire reached it in October 1871. Potter Palmer had built the hotel as a wedding gift for Bertha Honoré Palmer. The timing turned a new landmark into one of the fire’s losses, but Palmer decided to rebuild. In 1873, a larger Palmer House opened, and the hotel became part of Chicago’s effort to restore its commercial center.

The replacement was promoted as fireproof, a claim that spoke directly to the city’s recent catastrophe. Its construction relied on new techniques and materials, and the building helped establish the Loop as a destination for business and visitors. The hotel’s history is therefore bound to the city’s: it opened during a period when Chicago was deciding how to rebuild after destruction and how modern architecture might answer the fear of another fire.