"The former Hotel Rietmann, built in 1898 according toa recent survey (1999), is located on the southwest corner of Main and Sixth Streets in Troy, Idaho, a town of about 600 in northern Idaho. The structure, which faces northeast, was the first brick building in Troy and may have been constructed by a local mason, Olaf F. Rudeen, who was responsible for similar brick work on several other buildings in Troy. 1 This large, two-story, flat-roofed, brick building is a typical turn-of-the-century, vernacular, Commercial style building with Romanesque references. The building, which fill two standard 25'X100' commercial lots, is rectangular in shape, with a full-width, shed-roofed addition on the rear of the building. The asymmetrical, Main Street facade is divided into four unequal bays by five brick pilasters topped with simple, corbeled capitals. On the ground floor, only the northern-most bay retains its original configuration, with a recessed storefront entry and large transomed windows. On the second floor of the main facade, there were originally eight large windows that have been in-filled to varying degrees; however, the original pattern of fenestration is still clearly visible. In addition, above each window are brick arches consisting of three rows of rowlock bricks; above each arch, and connecting each is a continuous projecting course of header brick. All of the windows have rowlock brick sills. With the exception of the narrowest section of the building, the facade is capped with a corbeled cornice and parapet. The narrowest section (the second section in from the corner) was the entrance to the hotel and originally consisted of a large, double door entrance with a single, large window above on the second story. Above the brick arch and header brick course in this section is a small recessed signboard, and above this is the corbeled cornice; there is no parapet wall as the signboard has pushed the cornice up to take its place. This minor change in the standard design of the building emphasizes the importance of this narrow portion of the facade, as the main entrance. The Sixth Street facade is also divided into four (much larger) bays by five pilasters. More than half of the window openings on the first story have been in-filled with concrete block. Their size and location are clearly evident, though, because the continuous arch and header brick course elements from the second story of the Main Street elevation are continued three- quarters of the way along both the first and second stories of the Sixth Street elevation. On the ground floor, the front bay contains three windows completely filled in with concrete blocks. The second bay also has two filled-in windows. The third bay contains a tall arched doorway, with the upper space filled in to accommodate a metal door. One window in this section is completely filled in; the other is topped by a metal awning. The rear bay features two first floor windows and an entrance. The entrance has an aluminum screen door surrounded by glass and plastic panels and topped by a curved lintel. Troy (Vollmer) Sanborn maps reveal that this section was added to the building sometime between 1901 and 1905. This is also evident because of detail differences between this portion of the building and the original portion. This section is more spare; it lacks the continuous belt courses, has no decorative cornice, and the parapet wall is lower. On the front portion of the second floor, the parapet line is uneven and it looks as though parts of the wall have fallen. These have been repaired to give the wall a stepped appearance. The first bay has three windows, partially filled in with new windows inserted. The second bay contains two windows, the third bay has three windows, and the rear section four windows, all partially filled in and enclosing new windows. The first and third sections have the continuous, red-painted, brick, belt course curving over the windows; the second section features large, round arches above the windows, providing a very minimal Romanesque detail to the design. The interior of the building has been extensively remodeled to accommodate changing uses throughout the years. Except for exposed brick in the tavern area and wainscoting on the second floor, which holds apartments, few original elements remain. While the building has clearly been altered throughout the years, its essential elements are still apparent. The original pattern of solids and voids is still clearly visible because of the brick detailing on the building. The structure retains its clearly demarcated bays, continuous arches, header-brick courses, header-brick sills, and corbeling, providing the vocabulary for this turn-of-the-century Commercial style building. When built, this building was, and it remains, one of the largest and most imposing commercial structures in Troy." (
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