original 19th century american interior guestroom wood burning fireplace mantel believed to have been salvaged from the tremont hotel (non-extant) located in chicago, il. the impressive hand-carved mantel is comprised largely of tennessee marble with white cararra accent. the built-up mantle consists of several individual pieces carefully assembled and reinforced with grout and/or mortar. the long and rectangular mantel shelf remains in great condition with very little, if any, wear along the edges. the legs contain deeply chamfered edges flanking unadorned rectangular insets. the marble mantel was fabricated by the the burlington mfg. co., chicago, il. tremont house was a leading hotel that served as the headquarters for the illinois republican party during the 1860 republican national convention held at the nearby wigwam as they lobbied for abraham lincoln's nomination. both lincoln and stephen douglas started their senatorial campaigns from the balcony of this hotel. it was the third hotel bearing this name constructed at the southeast corner of lake street and dearborn in chicago. it was a 260-room hotel by early chicago architect john m. van osdel, who is known as the architect of the illinois executive mansion. it was a block masonry structure with the finest amenities of the day. the building was six stories high, with a facade composed of beautifully carved amherst sand stone. the original tremont house built in 1833 had been named after the boston tremont house. in 1861, this building served as douglas' deathplace. the hotel burned to the ground a third time during the great chicago fire. the rebuilt hotel remained along with the palmer house, grand pacific hotel and the sherman house as a leading hotel after the great fire. it was built in the commercial palazzo architecture style of the day and claimed to be fireproof. the hotel fell to the wrecking ball in 1937. measures 62 3/4 x 14 x 45 1/4 inches, with the firebox measuring 36 x 36 1/4.