The Grand Stair Hall (lobby) at the Conrad Hilton Hotel Chicago is a showstopper to guests and visitors who want to witness a taste of a classical architectural past. Massive Ionic columns and pilasters, which are Greco-Roman shallow, rectangular columns that projected slightly from the wall to give the appearance of a supporting column, adorn the sides of the grand entrance. The beaux-style paintings, murals, and statues represent a grandiosity and elaborate ornamentation in its work, incorporating many balconies around the lobby, arch designs for structure and style, columns around the hotel and within, and many statues that depict Greco-Roman style figures and animals.

Visual allusions to Versailles, a magnificent palace constructed by Louis XIV in France in 1624, and other touches of grandness make the hotel an awe-inspiring spectacle. Versailles draws upon a classical past as well, as the ceilings were adorned with illustrations of Roman gods and heroes, with Louis XIV himself painted as Apollo, the Sun God, symbolizing his truth and prophecy to be a great leader. Versailles also features Ionic columns, domes, triumphal arches, and courtyards, all Roman architecture staples, and also have been represented at the Hilton Hotel Chicago. The original Stevens Hotel was surrounded by 9 courtyards full of beautiful gardens and a luminous flower display. When guests entered the hotel, they embarked upon a grand 2-story beaux-style hall, with a grand winding staircase leading up to the hotel's grand ballroom. The winding staircase architectural method dates back to Greco-Roman times where one of the earliest discoveries of a winding stair design is found in Trajan’s column in Italy, which was constructed in Rome in 113 AD.

The hotel lobby ceiling features a 100 foot long cloud and sky painting by artist A. Bonanno, titled “Windows to the Sky.” The painting includes many winged angels that are depicted playing the lyre, a classical allusion to the ancient god Hermes, who created the lyre. The angelic illustration symbolizes Hermes, the messenger god and representation of travelers, welcoming all of the hotel's guests to the building.

Sculpturist Frederick Hibbard designed a fountain with bronze statues in the balcony overlooking the lobby, where the statues resemble Earnest Stevens’ sons and draw upon Roman bronze style sculpture techniques.

Image of the Grand Stair Hall from the balcony (photo by Alec Abramson)

Image of the Grand Stair Hall from the hall floor (photo by Alec Abramson)

Image of the Windows to the Sky Painting (photo by Alec Abramson)