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The Alonzo Ward Hotel is a historic hotel in
Businessman Alonzo Ward first built a hotel on the site in 1894. In November 1926, this first structure was destroyed in a fire. Work began on a replacement building in 1927 with the new hotel opening in May 1928.
The first radio station in Aberdeen, KABR, began operations on the sixth floor in 1935.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1982. The building is also listed on the National Register as a key
360° video of Alonzo Ward Hotel ballroom in 2017
by Aberdeen American News / AberdeenNews.com Hotel buildings completed in 1928 National Register of Historic Places in Brown County, South Dakota Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Dakota Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota Buildings and structures in Aberdeen, South Dakota 1928 establishments in South Dakota Art Deco architecture in South Dakota Vernacular architecture in South Dakota
Aberdeen, South Dakota
Aberdeen (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Ablíla'') is a city in and the county seat of Brown County, South Dakota, Brown County, South Dakota, United States, located approximately northeast of Pierre, South Dakota, Pierre. The city population was 2 ...
. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
and is a contributing property to the Aberdeen Commercial Historic District.
History
Businessman Alonzo Ward first built a hotel on the site in 1894. In November 1926, this first structure was destroyed in a fire. Work began on a replacement building in 1927 with the new hotel opening in May 1928.
The first radio station in Aberdeen, KABR, began operations on the sixth floor in 1935.
The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1982. The building is also listed on the National Register as a key contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
of the Aberdeen Commercial Historic District; the district was listed on May 23, 1988.
From 2002 through 2004, 90 of the original hotel rooms on floors 3–6 were converted into 15 condominiums and the second-floor ballroom was restored. In mid-2017, however, plans were made to convert the ballroom into apartments because it was used too infrequently to be economically viable. In October 2017, a semi-truck struck an overhang on the hotel's north side, cracking one corner of it.
Architecture
The hotel is a six-story building made ofsteel-reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...
with a brick facade. It was designed by architecture firm Ellerbe & Co. The building features a mix of architectural styles, including English vernacular revival and Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
.
The facade is visually composed of three layers. The first and second floors form the base, divided from the upper floors by a belt course
A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the f ...
of vertically laid bricks. Floors 3–6 form the middle layer. At the top is a cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...
of brick laid diagonally in an Art Deco zig-zag pattern.
See also
* Western Union Building (Aberdeen, South Dakota) * National Register of Historic Places listings in Brown County, South DakotaReferences
Bibliography
* ** * ** *External links
{{commons category, Alonzo Ward Hotel360° video of Alonzo Ward Hotel ballroom in 2017
by Aberdeen American News / AberdeenNews.com Hotel buildings completed in 1928 National Register of Historic Places in Brown County, South Dakota Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in South Dakota Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in South Dakota Buildings and structures in Aberdeen, South Dakota 1928 establishments in South Dakota Art Deco architecture in South Dakota Vernacular architecture in South Dakota