The Androy Hotel is a former hotel building in

Hibbing, Minnesota Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industrial activity today. At th ...

, United States. It was built in 1921 by the

Oliver Iron Mining Company The Oliver Iron Mining Company was a mining company operating in Minnesota, United States. It was one of the most prominent companies in the early decades of mining on the Mesabi Range. As a division of U.S. Steel, Oliver dwarfed its competitors ...

to anchor the city's new business district, which was being relocated so the

Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine The Hull–Rust–Mahoning Open Pit Iron Mine in Hibbing, Minnesota, United States, is the largest operating open-pit iron mine in Minnesota. The pit stretches more than long, wide, and deep. It was established in 1895 and was one of the worl ...

could expand. The Androy Hotel was 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 ...

in 1986 for its local significance in the themes of architecture and industry. It was nominated for being a good example of a large,

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range o ...

hotel built to serve a growing mining community. When the

East Howard Street Commercial Historic District The East Howard Street Commercial Historic District is a historic business district in Hibbing, Minnesota, United States. It comprises both sides of East Howard Street along the four blocks between 1st and 5th Avenues. It was the new business ...

was designated in 1993, the Androy Hotel was listed as a

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 ...

. The hotel closed in 1977. In 1994 it underwent

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an existing building for a purpose other than which it was originally built or designed for. It is also known as recycling and conversion. Adaptive reuse is an effective strategy for optimizing the o ...

to become a mixed-use commercial and residential property.

Origin

Hibbing was established as a

company town A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...

in the 1890s next to a rich vein of iron ore. From early on it was known that the ore continued under the town, and in 1919 the Oliver Iron Mining Company began the process of moving the city a mile to the south. The company relocated 185 houses and 20 commercial buildings, and funded the construction of new buildings along East Howard Street to resell or lease. The Androy's design is credited to Spencer S. Rumsey, the Oliver Iron Mining Company's chief engineer from 1917 to 1927. It was built to be an anchor of the new business district, with refined Renaissance Revival style and an imposing mass rising twice as high as most of the other nearby buildings.

Description

The Androy Hotel is a four-story brick building with

Indiana Limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

trim. It has a flat façade facing East Howard Street to the north, but the east and west sides have three projecting masses giving it the footprint of two back-to-back capital "E"s. The hotel featured 142 guest rooms, a public dining room, three private dining rooms, reception rooms, sample rooms for traveling salesmen to display their products, and commercial and office space for lease. The Hibbing Chamber of Commerce and local

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

were early tenants.

History

The Quigley–Doran Hotel Company assumed management of the Androy, the title coming from a portmanteau of the first names of officers Andrew Doran and Roy Quigley. The grand opening was held on June 30, 1921. The Androy was a key amenity in Hibbing, not only housing out-of-town visitors but hosting much of the city's commercial, political, and social activity for half a century. Declines in the iron ore industry depressed the local economy later in the 20th century, and the Androy Hotel went bankrupt and closed on November 30, 1977. The Androy stood vacant for 14 years, prompting the city to issue a permit for its demolition. Residents of Hibbing lobbied to save the historic building. Their efforts secured a restoration project beginning in 1994 in which Brighton Development Corporation updated the 73-year-old building into a mixed-use facility of commercial space and senior apartments.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1921 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures in Hibbing, Minnesota Defunct hotels in Minnesota Hotel buildings completed in 1921 Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Minnesota Renaissance Revival architecture in Minnesota

Origin

Description

History

See also

References