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| The West, built in 1884, was Minneapolis' first grand hotel. Finally: a place to impress snooty East Coast visitors. To modern eyes it is a graceless mess, but that was the style of the times. It lasted 56 years until its demolition in 1940.
The streetcars in this picture are appropriate, since it was streetcar magnate Tom Lowry who helped arrange the purchase of this site - which was once owned by the first resident of Minneapolis, John Stevens. So why wasn't this hotel called the Stevens, or the Lowry? Because Mr. West . . . lived in Cincinnati. He was a millionare whose nephew managed the Nicollet House, and he paid visits to Minneapolis. Nephew prevailed upon Unc to cought up a few million; they hired LeRoy Buffington to design it, and voila. (Information taken from Larry Millet's "Lost Twin Cities.") |
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