Great Chicago Fire

$150 Million Revamp of Chicago's Famed Palmer House

Ever since Thor Equities paid $230 million a while back for Chicago's famed Palmer House hotel, we've been awaiting the results of their $150 million revamp of the storied space. The original edifice, rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, was frequented by presidents, robber barons and writers like Charles Dickens and Mark Twain. The current hotel, constructed in 1923, continued the opulent tradition but eventually lost some of its luster.

A fair amount of progress has been made on the project to date, including a chic restaurant called Lockwood and the new addition of Potter's (above), a bar / lounge named after the Palmer House's founder, Potter Palmer. In the style of a 1930s men's club, the wood and leather-bedecked space features oversized photos of past Palmer House patrons and Chicago icons like like Nat King Cole, football star Walter Payton, and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

[via Men.Style]

Gallery: The Palmer House