The Hotel Lafayette was Louise Bethune’s opus — the building she was most proud to have designed. It is a seven-story steel frame and concrete building designed in the French Renaissance style. It is composed of several rectangular building units completed between 1904 and 1926. It features decorative vitreous red brick and white terra cotta trim.

The original building was designed by the firm and completed in 1904. Its immediate success led to an addition — also designed by Bethune — and completed in 1911. Later renovations and additions from 1916-1917 and 1924-1926 were completed by Esenwein and Johnson. The lobby was decorated in 1942 in the Art Moderne style. When it opened, the Hotel Lafayette was considered one of the 15 finest hotels in the country. Besides elevators, every room featured hot and cold water and a telephone. A 97 m (318 ft) antenna is attached to the building.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.