The LaSalle Hotel opened on September 9, 1908, located on the Northwest Corner of La Salle and Madison Street in Chicago. The hotel, designed by Holabird and Roche, was considered  the “largest, safest, and most modern hotel west of New York City, consisting of fireproof construction, built of steel, concrete, stone, granite, brick, terra cotta, marble, and tile.” The original owners and manager was J.W. and Ernest Stevens, who later constructed the Stevens Hotel. LaSalle Hotel was 22 stories tall and contained 1,048 rooms, in addition to many meeting rooms, lounges, restaurants, and grand reception halls. The hotel however was considered to have a very “conspicuous” design, with only two floors being underground as the foundation, and also the hotel was the tallest hotel in the world at its time, even towering above Chicago’s skyscrapers in the early 1900s. Due to poor design and wiring issues, the hotel ironically had a major fire with many deaths, in addition to major damage to structure and reputation.

What makes the LaSalle Hotel important is that this was the first hotel that any of the Stevens had been affiliated with, and it served as the motivation for the Stevens family to create their beloved Stevens Hotel on Michigan Avenue. A similarity between the hotels is that they were designed by the same architects, and another key connection is that both hotels attempted to direct attention to Chicago as a grander city compared to New York. The two cities in the early 1900s had a skyscraper race and competed to be considered “the cultural capital of the world.” The grandiosity of the LaSalle Hotel inspired the Stevens family to pursue their hotel in the grandest fashion, with incredible height and ornamentation, that would allow the hotel to represent Chicago believed reign over New York City. Furthermore, The LaSalle Hotel, a renaissance architectural style hotel, was embellished with a mansard (square shaped) roof, large windows, balconies, pilasters and a pediment on the outside facade, rounded arches, classical motifs, classical carvings and statues, a pavilion, and the hotel roof adorned with more classical elements and trophies. This renaissance design with a facade was implemented in the Stevens Hotel by architects Holabird and Roche, in addition to many classical columns, motifs, and trophies. This renaissance design also drew from France’s Versailles, which has architectural themes also found throughout the Conrad Hilton (former Stevens) Hotel. Overall, the LaSalle Hotel, the first hotel tie to the Stevens family, served as an inspiration and motivation for the Stevens family to pursue their hotel. The Stevens Hotel was nothing short of magnificent in size and ornamentation, just like the LaSalle Hotel.

Image of original LaSalle Hotel (“Image of the Original LaSalle Hotel.” LaSalle Hotel, 17 Dec. 2010, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_Salle_Hotel_main.jpg.)

LaSalle Hotel Blue Fountain Room (11 Dec. 2010, en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La_Salle_Hotel_The_Blue_Fountain_Room.jpg.)