Search results | Digital Grinnell

Title: Adams Street, East from Summit Hotel, Creston, Iowa, Summit House
Description: One of the first hotels in Creston, Iowa, the Summit Hotel, was built in 1880 by a stock company composed of Swan & Becker and Colonel Beckwith, among others, and was destroyed by fire in 1896. The hotel owners rebuilt on the same site later that year, but shortly before midnight on December 1916 another fire destroyed the building. The loss was estimated at $200,000 and defective electrical wiring was believed to have caused the fire. Creston centennial card, 1869-1969.
Date Created: 1914
PID: grinnell:16226

Title: Centropolis Hotel, Colfax, Iowa, Citizens State Bank, Hotel Centropolis
Description: Looking at the front entrance of Hotel Centropolis which was a sanitarium and hotel in one. Citizens State Bank was located on the main floor. 1910 postmark. Number 165570.
Date Created: 1910
PID: grinnell:13782

Title: Clark Hotel, Albia, Iowa, Hotel Clark, Monroe Hotel
Description: Looking southeast at the Clark Hotel on Clinton Street. There are Western Union and AAA signs near the entrance. In 1932, O.A. Clark of Clarinda bought the Monroe Hotel from J.C. Stevens and changed the name to Hotel Clark. 1932 postmark. Number 0841.
Date Created: 1932
PID: grinnell:14463

Title: Colo Cabin Camp at junction of Hi-Ways 30 & 65, Colo, Iowa, Colo Motel, Colo Cabin Camp at junction of Highways 30 & 65, Colo, Iowa
Description: Looking northeast at a one-story motel. Throughout most of the 1920’s, Charlie Reed allowed travelers to pitch tents on open land at this site. Beginning in 1928, however, that camping space was filled by the Colo Cabin Camp, which was also known by the late 1940’s as the Colo Motel, the sole name used after the mid-1950’s. This was an early use in Iowa of the term “motel,” a contraction of “motor hotel.” Connoting “modern,” this new word originated in California and quickly spread across the country after World War II. The motel has been recently remodeled and is now in use for those in need of a night’s stay. Number 5122.
Date Created: 1945
PID: grinnell:16991

Title: Continental Hotel, Centerville, Iowa, Hotel Barber Shop, E.A. Travis, Proprietor
Description: Looking southeast at the second, three-story, brick Continental Hotel which was rebuilt in 1893 after a fire destroyed the original building. Hotel Barber Shop, E.A. Travis, Prop. is printed on the awning. The building was restored in 1996 by Morgan Cline and it operates as an upscale hotel and is home to a leading restaurant in the area. It is located at 217 North 13th Street, Centerville, Appanoose County, Iowa. 1915 postmark. Number A-53171.
Date Created: 1914
PID: grinnell:14586

Title: Hart Motor Court, Charles City, Iowa
Description: Looking south at the Hart Motor Court (now Hartwood Inn), Jack and Lillian Hart, Highways 218-18, Charles City, Iowa. "Not just a cabin...not just a court...but your castle for the night." On the banks of the beautiful Cedar River. --t.p. verso. Located at 1312 Gilbert Street, Charles City, Floyd County, Iowa. 1951 postmark.
Date Created: 1951
PID: grinnell:14101

Title: Hotel Colfax, Colfax, Iowa, "Saratoga of the West"
Description: Built by the Old M.C. Springs Development and Improvement Company around 1882 at a cost of $100,000, the Hotel Colfax was originally known as the "Saratoga of the West" and located near the Old Magnesian Chalybeate. After the corporation's management failed in 1892, the hotel was sold to Wesley Jordan for $10,000. In 1904 the hotel was once again losing money so it was sold at a sheriff's sale to Col. James P. Donahue of Davenport. He invested between $600,000 and $700,000 in the property over a four-year period by adding 200 rooms, an electric railway into Colfax, and remodeling of both the inside and outside of the building in a Moorish design. The building was named a miniature city due to the garage and ice and cold storage plants, its electric powerhouse, pumping system and laundry. It is located at 900 North League Road, Colfax, Jasper County, Iowa and is currently being used by Teen Challenge of the Midlands. Number 17186.
Date Created: 1940
PID: grinnell:14568

Title: Hotel Colfax, mineral springs and baths, Colfax, Iowa, "Saratoga of the West"
Description: Built by the Old M.C. Springs Development and Improvement Company around 1882 at a cost of $100,000, the Hotel Colfax was originally known as the "Saratoga of the West" and located near the Old Magnesian Chalybeate. After the corporation's management failed in 1892, the hotel was sold to Wesley Jordan for $10,000. In 1904 the hotel was once again losing money so it was sold at a sheriff's sale to Col. James P. Donahue of Davenport. He invested between $600,000 and $700,000 in the property over a four-year period by adding 200 rooms, an electric railway into Colfax, and remodeling of both the inside and outside of the building in a Moorish design. The building was named a miniature city due to the garage and ice and cold storage plants, its electric powerhouse, pumping system and laundry. It is located at 900 North League Road, Colfax, Jasper County, Iowa, and currently used for Teen Challenge of the Midlands. 1910 postmark. Copyright 1909 by James A Donahue.
Date Created: 1910
PID: grinnell:14569

Title: Hotel Elliott, Lobby, Des Moines, Iowa, Elliott Apartments
Description: An interior view of the elegant Hotel Elliott deemed "the most European Hotel in Iowa", built circa 1900. Verso says: Hotel Elliott, Willis Newsom, Manager, Des Moines, Iowa. Located at 219 Fourth Street, Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. Number 7A-H2363.
Date Created: 1937
PID: grinnell:16867