Bidspirit auction | Vintage 8' Chicago Palmer House

Vintage 8' Chicago Palmer House Architectural Sign - Vintage Chicago Palmer House Architectural Sign, industrial, heavy-gauge metal sign with negative space cutout text used as an overlay for a backlit building marquee, thick, white letter insert made of translucent acrylic meant for backlighting, designed to push through from the back that caught both shadows during the day and internal light at night, classic typography traditionally used by the historic Palmer House Hotel in Chicago which holds a legendary status as North America's longest continuously operating hotel, built three different times on the same site in downtown Chicago, first opened in 1871, burned down 13 days later in the Great Chicago Fire, the second one was rebuilt immediately using an aggressive 24-hour construction schedule, opening in 1873, the current building today was constructed in stages between 1923 and 1925, the original 1873 hotel was cleared away to erect the massive 25-story skyscraper that still operates today. It was the very first hotel to feature a vertical steam lift elevator, electric lightbulbs and in-room telephones, known for the invention of the brownie in 1893 for the World's Columbian Exposition and for a brief period, it held the record for the largest hotel in the world. It was purchased by Conrad Hilton in 1945 and hosted icons like Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Liberace and Tony Bennett in The Empire Room. We are told that the Consignor's grandfather was a sign maker from the '60s through the '80s. This historic sign was taken down in the 1970s and tucked away until now. What an incredible time capsule to uncover, a literal piece of history found in the garage! Signs shows age-related wear, scruffs, scratches, dents, no cracks or breaks to the white letters, bend to one of the exterior corners, minor paint loss, honeycomb pattern damage inside the letter ”O”, overall good condition. 95 1/2” x 15” NOTE: NO SHIPPING, pick up or 3rd party transport required.