The first ( known as " The Palmer " ) was built as a wedding present from Potter Palmer to his bride Bertha Honoré . It opened on September 26 , 1871 , but burned down just 13 days later on October 9 , 1871 in the Great Chicago Fire . Palmer immediately set to work rebuilding , and with a $ 1.7 million signature loan ( believed to be the largest individual loan ever secured at that time ) , constructed one of the fanciest hotels worldwide in postfire Chicago . Designed by architect John M. Van Osdel , the second '' ' Palmer House Hotel ' '' was seven stories . Its amenities included oversized rooms , luxurious decor , and sumptuous meals served in grand style . The floor of its barber shop was tiled and silver dollars were embedded in a diamond pattern . Constructed mainly of iron and brick , the hotel was widely advertised as , " The World 's Only Fire Proof Hotel . " Famous visitors included presidential hopefuls James Garfield , Grover Cleveland , Ulysses S. Grant , William Jennings Bryan , and William McKinley ; writers Mark Twain , L. Frank Baum , and Oscar Wilde ; actresses Sarah Bernhardt and Eleonora Duse , and French cabaret singer Yvette Guilbert in 1897 . It was completed in 1875 . An 1895 meeting at the hotel of faculty representatives from various Midwestern universities resulted in the founding of the Big Ten Conference
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Palmer House Hilton