As October approached, I began brainstorming about a (non-rev) destination for my husband’s birthday. I knew I wanted a domestic destination, since I didn’t feel like dealing with COVID. Also, I wanted to rule out the need for an expensive rental car.
My husband guessed, that we were probably going to the Henry Ford museum in Detroit, Michigan. I never admitted to that guess, but let him believe that’s where we were going.
The morning of his birthday, as we rode to the airport, I presented him with a birthday card revealing where we were headed…Chicago, with an overnight stay at The Palmer House Hilton .
So what is it about the Palmer House, that made me pick it as the special birthday destination?
First and foremost, I picked it because it is one of my husbands favorite hotels. He has presented his research in conferences at the Palmer House many times throughout his teaching career. Joe always loves returning to the grand historic lobby, along with its elegant ambiance, especially to enjoy a Manhattan in the evening. This is definitely a Joe place! If you knew him you would understand.
The Palmer House is also a destination I have become fond of over several lobby visits with my husband in past years. I am impressed by its gold peacock doors, the exquisite statues with faces reminiscent of the Versace logo, and the round green velvet couches. The sheer grandiosity of the Palmer House makes me feel like a time traveler to 1918 with a Gibson girl updo, who enjoys shopping at Marshall Fields for a mink coat and silk stockings. Yes indeed, that is how I feel sitting in the lobby with Joe under that glorious old fresco ceiling! It is a very good place, with an excellent ambiance.
I became even more fond of and intrigued by the Palmer House after reading my book by Lindy Woodhead on Mr. Selfridge. This book discusses in detail, the history of major retail establishments such as Marshall Fields, and Selfridges of London. Mr. Potter is discussed quite a bit in the book because he was highly instrumental in the development of State Street in Chicago (and the beginnings of Marshal Fields). Mr. Palmer was a wealthy businessman, however due to pressing health issues, he sold off some of his assets and moved to Paris where he was supposed to rest and relax. However, Mr. Palmer became so inspired by the revitalization of shopping areas in Paris, he decided to return to Chicago in order to similarly develop Chicago’s shopping district. Quoting from Lindy Woodhead’s book:
“He knew that if Chicago was to have a world-class shopping district, then it’s stores needed a better environment. Getting out his checkbook, he bought up buildings on State Street, parallel to the lakeshore, until his holdings were a mile long. Lobbying the city council to widen the lane into a boulevard, at a stroke he single-handed lay reoriented the center of Chicago from Lake Street- which ran by a foul-smelling river– to State Street, which he virtually owned.”
Woodhead explains that Mr. Palmer married a beautiful lady, Bertha Honore, 23 years his junior. He built a glorious hotel in her honor, “Eight stories high, with 225 rooms fitted out with Italian marble and French chandeliers, it was Chicago’s most sumptuous building…” But sadly, the hotel never hosted a paying guest because it burned to the ground in the great Chicago fire. A fire so terrible that 300 people died, and nearly a third of the city became homeless.
Mr. Palmer began dreaming about replacing the burned down hotel with what is now the current standing Palmer House Hilton. Woodhead explains how Palmer raised money for the hotel, “he sold a parcel of land on State Street for $350,000 to the calculating men who ran the Singer Manufacturing Company and who were busy using the phenomenal profits from selling their patented sewing machine to diversify into property”.
Now isn’t that something? I love sewing machines and The Palmer House. It is all connected.
Mrs. Palmer was quite a character herself. She was young, beautiful, popular, and her sister was married to the son of Ulysses S. Grant. She was the irrefutable “Queen of Chicago” during her time.
Quoting from Lindy Woodhead’s book,
“Bertha adored jewels– her favorites being diamonds and pearls– she soon had a prodigious quantity of them, seemingly often wearing them all at once. Potter enjoyed this visible display of excess as much as Bertha did, being prone to remarking fondly, ‘There she stands, with half a million on her back ‘ actually it was more like half a million round her neck and another half million on her head: one of Bertha’s famous ‘dog collars’ was set with 2,268 pearls, while her favorite tiara contained 30 diamonds, each as big as a quail’s egg”. If you now understand that this couple loved loading up on jewels, the lobby and decor will make perfect sense!
Mrs. Woodhead goes on, “Always at the cutting edge of fashion, Mrs. Palmer was an early patron of the Impressionists. In one single year she famously bought twenty-five Monets, and she loved Renoir’s Acrobats at the Cirque Fernando so much that it traveled with her wherever she went. “
Today the hotel still offers Mrs. Palmer’s famous brownies (see more about this, and the recipe here). Additionally, Mrs. Palmer invested in a female inventor, Josephine Cochrane, by purchasing the first dishwasher machine, which propelled that invention to success. You can learn more about that in the History Chicks podcast here. If you can’t tell already, the history of the Palmer House fascinates me, and it is one of the reasons I love visiting the hotel.
The Palmer House featured a very pretty, somewhat masculine old room with marvelously mixed colors and patterns; lush velvet, red leather, geometric printed fabrics and details. Naturally the decor suggested a subtle nod to the peacock, since that is the bird associated with the hotel. The hotel also has a brand new swimming pool, an upscale health club, and a spa.
If you were to stay at the Palmer House, let me elaborate how else you could spend your time in Chicago while you are there, without having to leave the vicinity.
1.) You could take a short walk to the Pittsfield cafe for lunch, or a breakfast served all day. This has an old diner feel which I just adore.
2.) In close proximity to the Palmer House, located in the former historical (beautiful) Marshal Fields building is Macy’s department store. We love being inside that building! The basement level has a cute candy shop and a chill Starbucks cafe. You must also peek in at the Walnut room restaurant, as well as check out the historical timeline on the 7th floor.
3.) A great spot for dinner is Miller’s Pub, located just outside the Palmer House. This was my big plan, and it would have been perfect, except it turned out that the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday. We have had dinner there before, and this is just an enjoyable pub style restaurant filled with memorabilia of Chicago from a bygone era.
4.) Looking for a sweet treat? Try a dessert at Magnolia bakery. Sit down with your cake and coffee next to the white lacy curtained window looking out across the street from Macy’s and enjoy the sun and people watching. When I lived in NYC Magnolia Bakery would attract Sex and the City fans because it was on the show. Their Chicago location is just as fabulous and it smells delightful.
5.) Another place you could go for coffee and an elegant setting is Fairgrounds Cafe, located inside the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel, which features a small eating area.
6.) The Palmer House is a short walk to Millennium Park
Finally, this suggestion will require you to travel beyond the Loop, but I want to mention it because I enjoyed it so much. I found out about a Chicago musician named Joel Paterson who I think you might like.
When I was a young girl, my grandparents had records I liked to play. Playing these records, there was a certain happy vibe that came from listening to them. All these years later, coming across Joel Paterson I found that same vibe again. I don’t know enough about music to write how I can pinpoint the sound, but take a listen to some of his samples online to see if you like it as well.
If you are lucky, maybe he will be playing at the Green Mill jazz lounge when you visit. That is where we saw him play, and what thrilled me is knowing this was an Al Capon hang out. This venue has also been featured in some movies. I love discovering interesting places like this.
I hope you enjoyed reading about The Palmer House of Chicago, and I hope that perhaps it will be a place that will speak to you as it does me.
For those interested in the non-rev details (as in, if you are an airline employee who rides standby): We non-reved on Southwest to MDW (from RSW), and took the L Orange Line, directly from Midaway, to the Adams/ Wabash stop. This is right at the Palmer House! Very little walking will be required. To return to RSW, weflew nonstop on United from ORD. To get from the Palmer House to ORD, we took the nearby Blue Line directly to ORD where it terminates.
Birthday TripChicagoHiltonnon-rev travelThe Palmer House
