Palmer Mansion

Palmer Mansion
The front façade, c. 1910.
General information
Architectural style	Early Romanesque, Norman Gothic
Town or city	Chicago, Illinois
Country	United States
Coordinates	41°54′26″N 87°37′36″W / 41.907324°N 87.626615°W / 41.907324; -87.626615Coordinates: 41°54′26″N 87°37′36″W / 41.907324°N 87.626615°W / 41.907324; -87.626615
Construction started	1882
Completed	1885
Demolished	1950
Cost	at least $1,000,000
Client	Bertha and Potter Palmer
Technical details
Size	10,000 sqft (estimated)
Design and construction
Architect	Henry Ives Cobb and Charles Sumner Frost
Engineer	John Newquist

The Palmer Mansion, constructed 1882–1885 at 1350 N. Lake Shore Drive, was once the largest private residence in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Near North Side neighborhood and facing Lake Michigan. It was designed by architects Henry Ives Cobb and Charles Sumner Frost of the firm Cobb and Frost and built for Bertha and Potter Palmer. Palmer was a prominent Chicago businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street. The construction of the Palmer Mansion on Lake Shore Drive established the "Gold Coast" neighborhood, still one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city. The mansion was demolished in 1950.

At the time of the construction of the mansion, Potter Palmer was already responsible for much of the development of State Street. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the buildings on State Street were destroyed, and Palmer was yet again responsible for its redevelopment. Construction on the mansion began in 1882, and its exterior work was completed in 1883. However, interior decoration would continue for another two years before the building was entirely complete.

Henry Ives Cobb and Charles Frost were chosen as the architects for the mansion. The interiors were completed under the direction of architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee. John Newquist, who had already worked with Palmer on numerous other constructions, was chosen as the contractor and stair constructer. Although it was originally budgeted at $90,000, after five years of construction, the mansion would cost the Palmers more than a million dollars.

The Palmer Mansion was used for many social gatherings, including entertaining former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, during his visit to the city, and receptions during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition for which Bertha Palmer was a major planner and booster. The Palmers also received many other guests, including: two other U. S. Presidents, William McKinley and James A. Garfield; the Duke and Duchess of Veragua; the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII; as well as the Spanish princess Infanta Eulalia.