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West Hotel, Minneapolis

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West Hotel, Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis

The completed West Hotel, Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, c.1897.

In 1884, the young city of Minneapolis got its first world-class hotel, the West Hotel. It was a match for the growing aspirations of the city, which until then had been served primarily by the Nicollet House, founded in 1857, before Minnesota was a state.

John T. West, the first owner and proprietor of the West Hotel, got his start as manager of the Nicollet House. He was so successful that his wealthy uncle, Charles W. West, offered to bankroll a lavish new establishment for him on the southwest corner of Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue.

Up-and-coming local architect Leroy Buffington was hired, and the new hotel was planned on a grand scale. It had 407 guest rooms and one of the country's largest lobbies, or "exchanges," filled with marble, stained glass, and rich wood features. For all its grandeur, the West was planned with only 140 bathrooms, not unusual for the time but something that would hamper its later success.

The West Hotel formally opened on November 19, 1884, with a huge banquet. Guests of honor included local notables such as the mayors of Minneapolis and St. Paul; Cyrus Northrop, president of the University of Minnesota; and businessmen Thomas Lowry and James J. Hill.

The hotel's luxury soon became well known, even outside of Minnesota. The West welcomed famous guests such as Mark Twain and Winston Churchill, and it had the honor of hosting delegates to the 1892 Republican National Convention, held in Minneapolis at the Industrial Exposition Building.

The West Hotel had troubles from the beginning, however. The hotel often operated at a loss financially because of its focus on luxury. And despite its innovative hollow clay tile interior construction and repeated claims of being fireproof, the hotel suffered a fire at 7:15 a.m. on January 10, 1906, that killed nine people.

After the fire, the hotel was promptly refurbished and reopened, but its high-water mark of prosperity had passed. Twentieth-century guests wanted more amenities, especially private bathrooms, and remodeling was too expensive. Also, the hotel's Fifth and Hennepin neighborhood, once residential and sophisticated, was becoming increasingly industrial and less genteel.

As new hotels were built in Minneapolis and competition increased, the West Hotel passed through a succession of owners, losing increasing amounts of money, until its last owner, the Midwest Hotel Company, decided to demolish it. The hotel's demise in April 1940 was not much noted in the press at the time, and the site became a parking lot.

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"Eight Die in West Hotel Horror: Many Face Death and Barely Escape," Minneapolis Journal, January 10, 1906.

"Farewell to West." Minneapolis Tribune, March 30, 1940.

"Fire Scars Removed in 'New' West Hotel." Minneapolis Journal, March 23, 1906.

Flanagan, John T. "A French Humorist Visits Minnesota." Minnesota History 40, no. 1 (Spring 1966): 12–20.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/40/v40i01p012-020.pdf

———. "Mark Twain on the Upper Mississippi." Minnesota History 17, no. 4 (December 1936): 369–384.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/17/v17i04p369-384.pdf

Formal Opening of the West Hotel, Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis: Geesaman and Murphy, Printers, 1884.

Lester, C.T., ed. The West Hotel Tourists' Guide to Minneapolis and its Suburbs. Minneapolis: Johnson, Smith and Harrison, Printers, 1885.

"Opening of a Palace." Minneapolis Evening Journal, November 19, 1884.

Ronnei, Todd. "Churchill in Minnesota." Minnesota History 57, no. 7 (Fall 2001): 346–355.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/57/v57i07p346-355.pdf

Staples, Loring M. The West Hotel Story. Minneapolis: Carlson Printing Company, 1979.

Thorstenson, Ruth Zalusky. "The West Hotel: Part One." Hennepin County History 37, no. 3 (Fall 1978): 3–9.

———. "The West Hotel: Part Two." Hennepin County History 37, no. 4 (Winter 1978-79): 13–21.

———. "The West Hotel: Part Three." Hennepin County History 38, no. 1 (Spring 1979): 3–11.

"Wedding the Twins." Minneapolis Evening Journal, Thursday, November 20, 1884.

Related Images

West Hotel, Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
West Hotel, Fifth Street and Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis
West Hotel, proposed drawing, Fifth and Hennepin, Minneapolis
West Hotel, proposed drawing, Fifth and Hennepin, Minneapolis
West Hotel looking down Hennepin from Seventh, Minneapolis
West Hotel looking down Hennepin from Seventh, Minneapolis
Hennepin Avenue view west from Fourth Street, Minneapolis
Hennepin Avenue view west from Fourth Street, Minneapolis
Lobby of West Hotel, Hennepin Avenue at Fifth Street, Minneapolis
Lobby of West Hotel, Hennepin Avenue at Fifth Street, Minneapolis
Blaine and Harrison delegates, West Hotel, Minneapolis
Blaine and Harrison delegates, West Hotel, Minneapolis
West Hotel, Fifth Street at Hennepin, Minneapolis
West Hotel, Fifth Street at Hennepin, Minneapolis
Fifth and Hennepin looking west, Minneapolis
Fifth and Hennepin looking west, Minneapolis
West Hotel soap bar (front)
West Hotel soap bar (front)
West Hotel soap bar (back)
West Hotel soap bar (back)
West Hotel matchbook (front)
West Hotel matchbook (front)
West Hotel matchbook (back)
West Hotel matchbook (back)

Turning Point

In 1892, the West Hotel is at its most prestigious and hosts delegates of the Republican National Convention, held in Minneapolis at the Industrial Exposition Building.

Chronology

1884

The West Hotel formally opens on November 19, with a huge banquet.

1892

The West Hotel hosts delegates to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

1906

A January 10 fire at the West Hotel kills nine people.

1940

The hotel is demolished in April, and the site becomes a parking lot.









  

Comments

I was told by my Aunt Corinne Nygaard Green many years ago that my grandfather, Ingwald Jak Nygaard, was a barber in the barbershop at the West Hotel in Minneapolis. This would have been between 1910-1916. He was also known to have had a beautiful voice and participated in award winning barber shop quartets that traveled throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin singing.