Luxury Chicago Hotel Brimming with History and Elegance
The Silversmith Building began its eclectic history on the verge of a new millennium, long standing as a paragon of transition and progress, blending architectural styles, pioneering new materials, and housing a variety of commercial ventures throughout the decades. With the turn of another century, the Silversmith has been transformed once again, into The Silversmith Hotel & Suites, a leading boutique hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
In the late 1890’s, the Arts and Crafts movement began to replace Romanesque Revival architecture. In 1896, Peter J. Weber, of the celebrated architectural firm of D.H. Burnham and Company, designed the Silversmith to reflect this transition. The upper floors evoke the Moorish undertones of Romanesque Revival with their use of warm monochromatic red brick and unglazed terra cotta, rounded corner flat pilasters, and round brick attached columns. The lower floors have a simple zigzag surround on the windows, which typifies the turn-of-the-century European geometrical designs that inspired the Arts and Crafts movement. These floors are clad in dark green highly-glazed terra cotta reminiscent of the fireplace surrounds in the Arts and Crafts style homes.
One consistent element of this downtown Chicago hotel’s design is its incorporation of Chicago’s Commercial Style. This style accommodated the city’s growing demands of commerce and business especially after the Chicago fire of 1871. Like the Silversmith, buildings in this style featured heights of over five stories, flat roofs, very few façade projections, and a regular rhythm of same-size windows.
This style suited the tenants for whom the buildings were originally and mainly designed; the jewelry and silver trade. In fact, the Silversmith stands in what is still called “Jeweler’s Row”. One specific feature of the building, its central light court, further appealed to these businesses. This court and the Silversmith’s general floor plan, allowed natural light and ventilation to enter all work spaces, which was particularly important for both crafting and viewing intricate work.
After a century of some dubious transformations, the Silversmith has finally returned to its original splendor. Granted National Landmark status, The Silversmith Hotel & Suites has spared no expense in revitalizing the building and crafting an exquisite Chicago hotel. The entry hall’s restored marble mosaic, the marble and cast iron grand staircase and the lobby’s intricate classical relief ceiling welcome guests to a world of refined yet comfortable luxury.