Hyland Hotel - Palmer, Alaska - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Hyland Hotel was among the earliest commercial properties built in the new town of Palmer in 1935. Its establishment was an indication that private capital saw Palmer as an attractive business location and contributed to a feeling of permanence in the new town. Shortly after the arrival of the Matanuska Colony settlers, Myles and Joanna Hyland moved to Palmer from Girdwood, Alaska, where Myles had been working for the Alaska Railroad. The Hylands bought a lot from John Bugge, a pre-colony homesteader, in what is now downtown Palmer, and began building the hotel.

In September, the Hylands began digging the basement for the hotel by hand. To help financially, Joanna cooked and served meals in a tent on the property while the hotel was being built. Lumber for the hotel came from a dormitory that had stood at the nearby Eska coal mine. The Lutheran congregation purchased the dormitory and dismantled and moved it to Palmer to be used to build their church. The congregation sold the surplus lumber and windows. The Hylands furnished the hotel with one hundred dollars worth of furniture they purchased in Anchorage. When the hotel opened, single rooms rented for three dollars a day and double rooms for four dollars. Valley coal miners often rented rooms in the hotel during the winter months.

The Hylands operated the hotel together until Myles 1 death in 1949, then Joanna took over on her own. Joanna later married a local miner named James Smith, and they operated the hotel until 1966. Except for a brief period in the late 1950s, the hotel has continuously operated." - National Register Nomination form

The hotel is currently closed and the building is listed for sale.

Street address: 333 W. Evergreen Palmer, Alaska County / Borough / Parish: Matanuska-Susitna Year listed: 1991 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event Periods of significance: 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic Current function: Vacant Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/19/2011 li1gray visited it