The Palmer House, a Hilton hotel located in the Loop in Chicago, is considered the oldest hotel in Chicago, and is also regarded as the oldest continuously operating hotel in the country. The first Palmer Hotel opened on September 26, 1871, followed by a second design in 1873 after the original hotel burnt down in the Chicago Fire. Potter Palmer founded the Palmer Hotel. He was a wealthy businessman who also worked on commercial real estate development properties throughout Chicago, specifically known for his State Street properties. With an interest in becoming a hotelier, Potter Palmer saw his opportunity to follow his hotel interests when he married Bertha Honoré. Potter founded the Palmer Hotel as a wedding gift to Bertha. Bertha happened to play a key role in the architecture of the hotel as her taste for french neoclassicism was illustrated through fresco collections that told the importance that romance and beauty had in daily life. Considered one of the most luxurious hotels in the world and serving as a premium destination for Chicago tourists, businessmen, and vacationers, the Palmer Hotel was the center of life in Chicago.

There are many similarities between the former Stevens Hotel and the Palmer Hotel, as the 1925-1927 Palmer Hotel renovation was also designed by Stevens Hotel architects William Holabird and Martin Roche. With Palmer House renovations finishing the year the Stevens opened (in 1927), the luxurious hotels competed for approval in Chicago during the Roaring 20s, a decade of speakeasies, partying, shopping, and new wealth within a desire for more lavish lifestyles. The Stevens Hotel emulated the new “culture” that the Palmer Hotel brought to Chicago, and even proceeded to outperform the Palmer size-wise as the Stevens Hotel became the world's largest hotel at its time. The Palmer House had many Greco-Roman and neoclassical architectural elements that Holabird and Roche also adapted to the Stevens Hotel, with similarities including fresco artwork, columns, bronze statues, exterior and interior pilasters, columns, reliefs, and trophies, and overall a lavish and beautifully ornamented style. Both hotels happened to be bought out by Conrad Hilton, and the hotels serve as a look to the classical past, while also representing two of Chicago’s iconic destinations for travelers to enjoy a luxurious stay within the bustling city.

External side view of the entrance to The Palmer House ("Palmer House"Links to an external site. by yuan2003Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 Links to an external site.)

The Palmer House grand lobby, adorned with French artistry, as led by Bertha Palmer ("Palmer Lobby 2"Links to an external site. by yuan2003Links to an external site. is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 Links to an external site.)