The La Salle Hotel
The La Salle Hotel (left) certainly earned its reputation as "Chicago's Finest Hotel" and was one of the most elegant hotels of its time.
Located at the northwest corner of La Salle Street and Madison Avenue, The La Salle offered over-the-top luxury, grand rooms and dining rooms remnicent of the grand palaces of Europe.
The La Salle's Main Lobby (right) was a grand and dramatic space.
Decorated in greens and golds, the lobby features custom green & gold carpets and drapes, oversized embroided upholstered chairs, white marble statues and floors, and a wonderful black marble clerk's desk with decorative brass post boxes. Fresh ferns and custom brass light fixtures accent the green and gold theme.
Shorter chairs are provided for women with dresses or children and brass spitoons for the men. A Consierge desk adjoins the front door.
The Louis XVI Dining Room (left) followed the green and gold theme of the La Salle Hotel's Main Lobby.
Fresh ferns and flowers add to the elegance of the room with fresh flowers on each table and a massive flower display in the center. Brass sconces between the windows serve as shelves for plants as well as providing additional lighting.
Heavy green curtains with gold trim follow in the style of the Main Lobby.
A highly-decorated gilded vaulted ceiling with two large chandeliers add drama to the room.
The Grand Ballroom (right) of the La Salle Hotel could rival any ballroom of the time.
Massive chandeliers, large arched windows, vaulted ceilings, with gold, green and blue trim, and red velvet curtins and upholstered chairs give this room an unmatched elegance.
Decked in gold with white trim, the Parlor of the Presidential Suite (right) was a room fit for royalty.
The room features a grand piano finished in a honey-gold color, a heavy gold gilded miror over a white marble fireplace, gilded French-style furniture, and deep gold velvet curtains.
Fresh roses over the fireplace complete the room.
The Donatelllo Fountain at the Palm Room (left) featured a sunny eating area with an Italian fountain centerpiece.
Special features of the this room include large hanging lamps, cream-colored stone and plaster and high-beamed ceilings accented in green, blue, rose and gold. Round tables with traditional white table clothes, bud vases with fresh flowers, were combined with green chairs with red upholstered seats.
A large oil painting of a reclining nude and an Italian marble fountain sourounded by large ferns give this room a European feel.
The Buffet (right) was not a dinner buffet but a bar decorated to look like a medieval castle.
This masculine pub features paneled wood ceilings with heavy beams, wooden booths and traditional wood tables and chairs, Medieval murals over the bar, leaded glass windows, heavy metal chandeliers and a row of brass spitoons along the bar for patrons.
A more intimate space in the LaSalle Hotel was The Blue Fountain Room (right), named for glowing blue fountain topped by a marble nude statues.
Wonderfully-decorated low vaulted ceilings and wood trim add to the warm space.
Unique red-globed light fixtures provide a warm glow to this cozy space.
The Dutch Room (right) offered yet another unique dining experiance at the La Salle Hotel.
Massive brick supports hold up heavy-beamed and paneled ceilings. Terra cotta tiled floors and blue tiled walls along with traditional wood & leather chairs create a warm, informal setting.
