The Nicollet Hotel, in downtown

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, was located on a slightly irregular block bounded by

Hennepin Avenue Hennepin Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It runs from Lakewood Cemetery (at West 36th Street), north through the Uptown District of Southwest Minneapolis, through the Virginia Triangle, the former "Bottleneck" a ...

, Washington Avenue,

Nicollet Avenue Nicollet Avenue is a major street in Minneapolis, Richfield, Bloomington, and Burnsville in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It passes through a number of locally well-known neighborhoods and districts, notably Eat Street in south Minneapolis an ...

and 3rd Street South adjacent to Gateway Park. The original hotel on the site (often called the Nicollet House Hotel) was built in 1858. Named for

Joseph Nicollet Joseph Nicolas Nicollet (July 24, 1786 – September 11, 1843), also known as Jean-Nicolas Nicollet, was a French geographer, astronomer, and mathematician known for mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin during the 1830s. Nicollet led three ...

, the hotel quickly became a landmark and many of the city's early prominent figures such as

John S. Pillsbury John Sargent Pillsbury (July 29, 1827 – October 18, 1901) was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican, he served as the eighth Governor of Minnesota from 1876 to 1882. He was a co-founder of the Pillsbury Co ...

and William D. Washburn worked out of it. Over the next half-century it was expanded and remodeled several times, but by the 1920s found itself obsolete. In 1922 city inspectors ordered the installation of a fire sprinkler system which the owners deemed too expensive. The old hotel was demolished in 1923. The new Nicollet Hotel opened in June 1924. Costing $3.5 million, it had a total of 637 rooms spread across 12 stories. The building was designed by the Chicago-based firm of

Holabird & Roche The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

in a somewhat plain and unadorned style with four wings of rooms arranged around a central core. The building also had space for retail storefronts at street level. While somewhat unremarkable in appearance, the hotel's sheer size and entertainment venues made it a popular option. A young

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

had been there as well as

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...

, and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. One of the hotel's lounges, the Minnesota Terrace, hosted musicians such as

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of " Sing, Sing, ...

and

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, tele ...

. In the 1930s the Nicollet was managed by the National Hotel Management Company, with hotel industry pioneer

Ralph Hitz Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

as the NHM president. Hitz raised the profile of the Nicollet with his unique marketing style and particular attention to his guests and employees. In the 1950s a Polynesian-themed bar called the Waikiki Room was also added. In 1957 the hotel was bought by the Albert Pick Hotels Company and renamed the Pick-Nicollet Hotel. During the 1960s when much of the Gateway District was demolished as part of an urban renewal project the Nicollet was spared, however the hotel's age and the neighborhood's decline left it unable to compete. In 1973 the hotel was bought by Soul's Harbor Church which held services, operated Calvary Bible Institute, and provided housing in the building. The church went into bankruptcy in 1984 and the hotel's fixtures and furnishings were sold off shortly thereafter. Various proposals to renovate the building into a new hotel, apartments or office space were made during the 1980s but none of the plans came to fruition. The building was added to 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 1987 but was eventually demolished in 1991. After the building's demolition the site served as a surface parking lot. In 2014 the city of Minneapolis solicited proposals to redevelop the block and received proposals from four different developers. In February 2015 the city's staff recommended a proposal from United Properties to build a complex on the site including a 36-story residential tower, Hilton hotel, retail/office space and a public plaza.

References

{{commonscat, Nicollet Hotel Former National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis Hotels established in 1858 Hotel buildings completed in 1924 Buildings and structures demolished in 1991 1858 establishments in Minnesota Buildings and structures demolished in 1923 Projects by Holabird & Root Demolished hotels in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Minnesota