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La Salle Hotel Fire
On June 5, 1946, a fire broke out in the hotel, killing 61
people, many of them children.[17] The fire began in the Silver
Grill Cocktail Lounge on the lower floor on the La Salle Street
side adjacent to the lobby before ascending stairwells and
shafts[18] The fire started either in the walls or in the
ceiling according to the Chicago Fire Department around 12:15
a.m. but they didn't receive their first notification of the
fire until 12:35 a.m.[19] The fire quickly spread through
the highly-varnished wood paneling in the lounge and the mezzanine
balcony overlooking the lobby. While a significant number
died from flames, a greater number of deaths were caused by
suffocation from the thick, black smoke.[20] Around 900 guests
were able to leave the building but some 150 had to be rescued
by the fire services and by heroic members of the public,
including two sailors who were reported to have rescued 27
people between them.[19][20] Two-thirds of hotel fire deaths
in 1946 occurred in the La Salle and Winecoff (Atlanta) fires.[21]
The hotel fire was so devastating, it resulted in the Chicago
city council enacting new hotel building codes and fire-fighting
procedures, including the installation of automatic alarm
systems and instructions of fire safety inside the hotel rooms.[20]
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Architecture
The architects of this skyscraper building
developed their own innovative architectural style
within the "Chicago School". A special feature
of this style is the "Chicago window" with
a large pane of plate glass for each window flanked
by constricted windows which could be opened. This
created an illusion that the entire building was made
up of glass.[11]
La Salle billed itself as "Chicago's
Finest Hotel" and was a symbol of upper class
extravagance in Chicago in the early twentieth century,
with its grand ballrooms and luxury restaurants exuding
a grandeur of the fine palace hotels of Europe.[12]
The hotel was 22 stories high and claimed 1000 rooms.
It was one of Chicago's leading hotels until North
Michigan Avenue became host to the Drake Hotel (1918–20)
and the Allerton Hotel (1923–4).[13] Resembling
hotels of New York City, it had a particular similarity
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| Exterior The 80.47 m (264.0 ft) above
ground level,[15] 22 story building was built on rock
caissons and had two basements. The hotel frontage
on La Salle Street was 178 ft (54 m) while the Madison
Street frontage was 161 ft (49 m).[4] Its architectural
style was also defined as "beaux-arts."[ |
Interior
Lobby
The hotel's Main Lobby was dramatic and opulent with
green and gold decorations, carrying the theme through
its carpets and drapes. It was furbished with marble
throughout: floors, statues and a desk. Accents included
brass fixtures and spittoons. There were over-sized,
upholstered chairs, as well as shorter ones for women
and children.[12]
Another fountain, this one glowing and blue, was
located in the aptly named Blue Fountain Room. Proposed
as a more intimate place to relax, the room was fitted
with a marble statuette of Venus de' Medici and a
lower, vaulted ceiling. The woodwork was silver maple.[16]
Its unique light fixtures were red globes.[12] |
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Fires
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