The Stevens Family wealth began in the late 1880s with J.W. Stevens, an Illinois native who ventured to Chicago and scored big by managing Illinois Life Insurance. With his sons Earnest and Raymond working alongside him, they managed to successfully lead smaller hotels and other businesses to highly regarded profits and overall success. J.W. Stevens had built and owned La Salle Hotel, which opened its doors in 1909 with 1,000 rooms as one of Chicago’s finest and most luxurious hotels in the Loop. In 1925, The Stevens trio took their accomplishments to begin their own hotel business, the Stevens Hotel Company, where the Stevens Hotel began to take form as investment rounds rolled out. The Illinois Life Insurance company became a lead investor in the early rounds where the Stevens hoped to begin constructing their $20 million masterpiece: The Stevens Hotel.

Image of the Stevens Family in 1927 on the opening days of The Stevens Hotel (courtesy of The Conrad Hilton Hotel Chicago museum)