The Palmer House Hilton has been one of Chicago’s grandest hotels for more than a century. Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde were guests. Frank Sinatra serenaded diners at its supper club. Over the past 15 years, the owner spent $173 million to overhaul the hotel, modernizing most of the 1,641 rooms.
But today, the property faces a bank foreclosure and has become one of the most potent symbols of the troubled hospitality industry during Covid-19.