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The first hotel on the site was the Continental Hotel, built from 1857 to 1860.[4] The first hotel on the site was the Continental Hotel, built from 1857 to 1860.[4] The 700-room, six-story hotel was designed in the Italianate style by architect John McArthur Jr., who also designed the Philadelphia City Hall.[5] The luxurious hotel boasted one of the first elevators in the country, and a grand stairway made from polished Italian marble. Its main entrance was redesigned by noted Philadelphia architect Frank Furness in 1876.
Among its famous guests were Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Charles Dickens, King Edward VII, and Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro. However, its most notable guest was president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who gave a speech from the hotel's balcony on February 21, 1861, just before his March 4 inauguration.