Southern Minnesota Historic Hotels
Restored U. S. Landmarks Provide Luxury Lodging in Scenic Locales
Jun 14, 2008
The Saint Paul Hotel
Although “elegant luxury” is an over-used term, it fits perfectly when describing the St. Paul Hotel. Built in 1910, the hotel is tucked into a downtown corner at 5th and Market Streets. The location couldn’t be better, since it is within easy walking distance of Excel Center (site of the 2008 Republican National Convention), Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Landmark Center with shops galore, the Mississippi River, department stores, a bevy of top restaurants and several museums.
Inside the hotel, the 254 guestrooms have been impeccably restored, with great attention to detail. From the framed engravings on the walls to the harmonious coordination of wallpaper, fabrics and accessories, the rooms are reminiscent of those in fashionable homes of the 1920s and ‘30s. The hotel’s public rooms have been restored to their original era as well – a far cry from the 1950s when the hotel was “modernized” with chrome and collector automobiles were displayed in the lobby. Dining options include the East Coast-style Saint Paul Grill & Bar as well as the M ST. Café. There’s also a Lobby Bar, which features wine, beer, cocktails and a lighter fare menu. Room rates at the hotel start at about $189 and a variety of packages, including such extras as champagne and chocolate-coated strawberries, dinner in the Saint Paul Grill and breakfast in bed, are available.
St. James Hotel
In 1873, 11 prominent Red Wing businessmen shelled out a total of $60,000 to build a hotel befitting their city’s position as the world’s largest primary wheat market. Inaugurated with a Grand Ball on Thanksgiving Day in 1875, the St. James was one of the finest hotels in the country. Its name, the story goes, was chosen because the owners -- many of them of English descent -- thought it sounded “regal and high class.”
After 34 years of contract management, Charles Lillyblad bought the hotel (Lillyblad had been the hotel’s manager for the previous three years). Upon his death in 1932, his wife Clara ran the business and the hotel remained in the family for 45 more years. By 1977, when it was purchased by the Red Wing Shoe Company, the hotel had fallen into disrepair. During the next two years, however, it was completely restored and expanded with additions for shops, offices and more hotel rooms.
Today, the 61 guestrooms are decorated with antiques, reproductions of Victorian-era furniture and patchwork quilts. Dark wood paneling, period wallpaper, pictures and pressed tin ceilings add to the rooms’ authenticity. Public rooms include a showplace lobby, library, restaurants including the charming indoor/outdoor Veranda Cafe, bars and shops. Room rates range from $129 to $299.
Historic B & Bs
Several Bed and Breakfasts in southern Minnesota are also located in vintage buildings. In Lanesboro, 20 miles southeast of Rochester, Stone Mill Suites occupy the former Lanesboro Feed Mill, a lime-stone structure built in 1885. Mrs. B’s Historic Lanesboro Inn started life as a private home in 1872 and two other B & Bs occupy restored Victorians from the late nineteenth century. Quill & Quilt in Cannon Falls, 22 miles west of Red Wing originally was the home built in 1897 by the town’s physician and the Historic Anderson House B & B in Wabasha, built in 1856, is the oldest continuously operated hotel in the state. Wabasha is located on the Mississippi 32 miles southeast of Red Wing on Highway 61. Rates at the B & Bs generally range from $69 to $235.
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