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The La Salle Hotel was a historic hotel that was located on the northwest corner of
La Salle Street LaSalle Street is a major north-south street in Chicago named for René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Robert de La Salle, a 17th century French explorer of the Illinois Country. The portion that runs through the Chicago Loop is considered ...
and Madison Street in the
Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
community area of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, United States. It was situated to the southwest of
Chicago City Hall Chicago City Hall is a 10-story building that houses the official seat of government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. Adjacent to the Richard J. Daley Center and the James R. Thompson Center, the building that includes Chicago City Hall ho ...
and in very close proximity to St. Peter's Church. It was built between 1908 and 1909 by
Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...
, contemporaneously with the
Blackstone Hotel The Blackstone Hotel is a historic 21-story hotel on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive in the Michigan Boulevard Historic District in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. Built between 1908 and 1910, it is on the Nation ...
designed by Benjamin Marshall in a very similar style and at the time was Chicago's finest hotel. After a major fire in the hotel in June 1946, it was rebuilt at a cost of US$2 million and reopened in July 1947; it flourished for 29 more years, until it was demolished in 1976 to make room for office towers.


History

Chicago's luxury hotels evolved as part of the architectural revolution that found form as
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...
s. The La Salle Hotel was built between 1908 and 1909 as a 23-story, 1,000-bedroom building in the
Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
. The site, on the northwest corner of North LaSalle and West Madison Streets, had previously been occupied by the five-story La Salle Building from 1872 to 1908 and the adjacen
Oriental Hall
a Masonic temple, from 1873. Known as the “Empire Block,” it housed the Metropolitan National Bank. The hotel was named in honor of Robert Cavelier de LaSalle. Built at a cost of approximately $3,500,000, or 44 cents per cubic foot, the architects were
Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...
while the engineers were the firm of Purdy & Henderson. At one time Chicago's largest hotel, the LaSalle was opened in 1909 by the family of
John Paul Stevens John Paul Stevens (April 20, 1920 – July 16, 2019) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1975 to 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-oldes ...
. It was run by Ernest J. Stevens, father of the
Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme ...
. The hotel was planned, designed and built in the commercial district of Chicago as an upscale hotel for an elite and influential clientele, with luxurious and stately
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...
-paneled rooms and lobbies. An elegant roof top garden was planned as a major attraction. When it was opened in 1909, it was hailed as the "largest, safest, and most modern hotel west of New York." The
Republican Party of Illinois The Illinois Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Illinois founded in May 29, 1856. It is run by the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, which consists of 18 members, one representing each of t ...
had their offices located in the luxurious Blue Fountain Room of the hotel. During one of his long visits to Chicago, President
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
stayed in the presidential suite on the third floor of this hotel, converting it into de facto
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. A formal visit was also paid to the hotel by President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
and his wife in 1925. Other visitors came as convention guests. However, all this history ended with a disastrous fire (see below) in the hotel on June 5, 1946, which was compounded by the fact that the hotel did not live up to its professed "safest hotel" claim, as there was lack of basic fire prevention, warning and firefighting facilities. At the time of the fire, guests occupied 886 rooms of the hotel, with 103 employees at work. After the fire, the hotel was rebuilt and renamed, at a cost of US $2 million, reopening in July 1947 and flourishing for 29 more years until it was razed in 1976 to construct office towers. The famous Silver Grill Cocktail Lounge in the hotel was renamed "The Hour Glass" after renovation. Among other events that took place at the hotel, include the 1928
Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...
's National Convention July 10–12, 1928.
William F. Varney William Frederick Varney (October 1, 1884 – December 13, 1960) was an American politician who served as the Prohibition Party's presidential candidate in 1928 and in other New York campaigns. Life On October 1, 1884, William Frederick Varney ...
was made the party's
Presidential nominee In United States politics and government, the term presidential nominee has two different meanings: # A candidate for president of the United States who has been selected by the delegates of a political party at the party's national convention (al ...
. Hollywood actor and dancer,
Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
, said the only time he fell during an actual performance was on the dance floor at the La Salle Hotel in 1933. He slipped on a grease spot on the dance floor and broke his arm. He got up, took a bow and walked off the floor.


Architecture

The architects of this skyscraper building developed their own innovative architectural style within the " Chicago School". A special feature of this style is the "Chicago window" with a large pane of plate glass for each window flanked by constricted windows which could be opened. This created an illusion that the entire building was made up of glass. La Salle billed itself as "Chicago's Finest Hotel" and was a symbol of upper class extravagance in Chicago in the early twentieth century, with its grand ballrooms and luxury restaurants exuding a grandeur of the fine palace hotels of Europe. The hotel was 22 stories high and claimed 1000 rooms. It was one of Chicago's leading hotels until North Michigan Avenue became host to the Drake Hotel (1918–20) and the
Allerton Hotel The Warwick Allerton - Chicago (formerly Allerton Hotel and Warwick Allerton Hotel Chicago and Allerton Crowne Plaza Hotel) is a 25-story hotel skyscraper on the Magnificent Mile in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. ...
(1923–4). Resembling hotels of New York City, it had a particular similarity to the 1904
Hotel Astor Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway, Shubert Alley, and 44th and 45th Stre ...
.


Exterior

The above ground level, 22 story building was built on rock caissons and had two basements. The hotel frontage on La Salle Street was while the Madison Street frontage was . Its architectural style was also defined as "beaux-arts."


Interior

The hotel's Main Lobby was dramatic and opulent with green and gold decorations, carrying the theme through its carpets and drapes. It was furbished with marble throughout: floors, statues and a desk. Accents included brass fixtures and
spittoon A spittoon (or spitoon) is a receptacle made for spitting into, especially by users of chewing and dipping tobacco. It is also known as a cuspidor (which is the Portuguese word for "spitter" or "spittoon", from the verb "cuspir" meaning "to s ...
s. There were over-sized, upholstered chairs, as well as shorter ones for women and children. Another fountain, this one glowing and blue, was located in the aptly named Blue Fountain Room. Proposed as a more intimate place to relax, the room was fitted with a marble statuette of
Venus de' Medici The Venus de' Medici or Medici Venus is a tall Hellenistic marble sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite. It is a 1st-century BC marble copy, perhaps made in Athens, of a bronze original Greek sculpture, following the type of th ...
and a lower, vaulted ceiling. The woodwork was silver maple.Bruegmann, p. 331 Its unique light fixtures were red globes. Two large
chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent li ...
s hung from the gilded and vaulted ceiling of the green and gold themed Louis XVI Dining Room. Brass sconces were built in between the windows. A gilded and vaulted ceiling, and a repeating green and gold theme drew on the style of the Main Lobby. Another eating area was the Dutch Room (or German Grill). It was noted for its enormous red brick supports which supported the heavy-beamed and paneled ceilings. The room was furnished with wooden and leather chairs and had blue tiled walls and
terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...
tiled floors. It was here that electric grilling started in Chicago. Considered by some to be Chicago's most beautiful hotel dining room, the Palm Room featured an Italian fountain after a model by
Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Republic of Florence, Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Republic of Florence, Florence, he studied classical sculpture and use ...
as its centerpiece. It was built of cream-colored stone, Rookwood tile, and gray terra cotta, while featuring high-beamed ceilings. The ambiguously named Buffet was actually the hotel's bar. It was decorated in the style of a medieval castle with heavy beams, paneled ceilings, and wooden booths. There were murals, lead glass windows, and metal chandeliers. The ballroom was designed with arched windows and vaulted ceilings. These were painted trims of blue, gold and green. The curtains and chairs were accented with red velvet. Large chandeliers provided light. Accessed from a double-loaded corridor, Floors 2 through 18 were sleeping rooms, arranged in a square doughnut formation. A central light well was built into the hotel, extending from the lobby to the top of the building. They were designed as suites of paired rooms, each with its own bathroom. Large enough to accommodate a
grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, the Presidential Suite featured a white marble fireplace.


Fire

On June 5, 1946, a fire broke out in the hotel, killing 61 people, many of them children. Among the dead included a battalion chief of the Chicago Fire Department. The fire began in the Silver Grill Cocktail Lounge on the lower floor on the La Salle Street side adjacent to the lobby before ascending stairwells and shafts The fire started either in the walls or in the ceiling around 12:15 a.m. according to the
Chicago Fire Department The Chicago Fire Department (CFD) provides fire suppression, rescue services, Hazardous Materials Response services and emergency medical response services to the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Chi ...
, but they did not receive their first notification of the fire until 12:35 a.m. The fire quickly spread through the highly-varnished wood paneling in the lounge and the mezzanine balcony overlooking the lobby. While a significant number died from flames, a greater number of deaths were caused by suffocation from the thick, black smoke. Around 900 guests were able to leave the building but some 150 had to be rescued by the fire services and by heroic members of the public, including two sailors who were reported to have rescued 27 people between them. Two-thirds of hotel fire deaths in 1946 occurred in the La Salle and Winecoff (Atlanta) fires. The hotel fire was so devastating, it resulted in the Chicago city council enacting new hotel building codes and fire-fighting procedures, including the installation of automatic alarm systems and instructions of fire safety inside the hotel rooms. The hotel was refurbished after the fire and was finally demolished in July 1976, to be occupied by the Two North LaSalle office building. This skyscraper was completed on the site in 1979.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Salle Hotel Hotel buildings completed in 1909 1946 fires in the United States Hotel fires in the United States Burned hotels in the United States Skyscraper hotels in Chicago Hotels disestablished in 1976 Chimney effect fires 1946 disasters in the United States June 1946 events in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1976 Projects by Holabird & Root 1976 disestablishments in Illinois Hotels established in 1909 1909 establishments in Illinois Chicago school architecture in Illinois Demolished hotels in Chicago