[3] The site was on the northwest corner of North LaSalle and West Madison Streets, to the southwest of Chicago City Hall and close to St. Peter's Church.

The site had previously been occupied by the five-story La Salle Building from 1872 to 1908 and the adjacent Oriental Hall, a Masonic temple, from 1873.

Built at a cost of approximately $3,500,000,[5] or 44 cents per cubic foot, the architects were Holabird & Roche while the engineers were the firm of Purdy & Henderson.

[4] At one time Chicago's largest hotel, the LaSalle was opened in 1909 by the family of John Paul Stevens.

The Republican Party of Illinois had their offices located in the luxurious Blue Fountain Room of the hotel.

During one of his long visits to Chicago, President William Howard Taft stayed in the presidential suite on the third floor of this hotel, converting it into de facto White House.

Hollywood actor and dancer, Gene Kelly, said the only time he fell during an actual performance was on the dance floor at the La Salle Hotel in 1933.

[12] 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.

[15][16] Blind future Texas House of Representatives member Anita Lee Blair was led to safety by her service dog Fawn.

"[23] The hotel's Main Lobby was dramatic and opulent with green and gold decorations, carrying the theme through its carpets and drapes.

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.

[20] Two large chandeliers hung from the gilded and vaulted ceiling of the green and gold themed Louis XVI Dining Room.

A gilded and vaulted ceiling, and a repeating green and gold theme drew on the style of the Main Lobby.

[20] It was built of cream-colored stone, Rookwood tile, and gray terra cotta,[24] while featuring high-beamed ceilings.

[24] Large enough to accommodate a grand piano, the Presidential Suite featured a white marble fireplace.