Judging by the guest register, Finlen's feelings may have been correct as names such as William Jennings Bryan, Theodore Roosevelt, Charles Russell, Charles Lindberg, Mrs. Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon appear on the register. We know not whether the Finlen is the Finest hotel in Butte, but we're sure that that was Finlen's intention when he built it. It may well be the finest as it continues in operation and, given that it was renovated in the recent past, the owners intend to keep it in operation.
Apparently the Great Falls Tribune concurs, if their news article of 2014 can be believed, which we're sure it can.
Butte's historical Finlen Hotel is thriving
Erin Madison | Published 10:00 p.m. MT Nov. 8, 2014
BUTTE – Built in 1889 on Broadway Street in Uptown Butte, the McDermitt Hotel was known as one of the grandest hotels in the northwest.
Miles Finlen bought the hotel in 1895. Finlen was born in Ireland and moved to Canada when he was 4. He eventually ended up in Virginia City, Nev., where he found success in the mining business. In Nevada, he also met Marcus Daly and developed a long friendship with the copper tycoon. In 1888, Finlen moved to Butte where he operated several large mines and eventually bought the hotel.
Finlen was well-liked in Butte and was known as one of Butte's "most progressive, public spirited, enterprising and useful citizens," according to a Montana history book written in 1913 by Helen Fitzgerald Sanders. After Miles Finlen died in 1911, his son took over the hotel.
James Finlen decided the McDermitt wasn't grand enough, and in 1924, he had the hotel razed and built a new nine-story, 250-room structure in its place. The younger Finlen hired an architectural firm that designed the hotel after the Hotel Astor in New York City. The building, complete with a copper shingled roof, came with the price tag of $750,000.
Some 100,000 people lived in Butte at the time, and the new Finlen Hotel was a grand building, appropriate for a booming town. Notables who have stayed at the Finlen include Charles Lindberg, Mrs. Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, according to the Finlen's website.
In the 1950s, a motor inn was added on to the main hotel building. The motor inn has 32 rooms situated around a parking lot. In the '60s, the owners began to convert some of the hotel rooms into apartments. Today, the fourth through ninth floors of the hotel are made up of apartments. The largest of the 40 apartments are about 1,300 square feet with two bedrooms.
The Taras family purchased the building in 1979 and steadily has worked to make improvements. In 2000, they restored the lobby. The Finlen aims to offer a historical experience with modern comforts. The rooms in the main hotel have high ceilings with original stonework in the bathrooms.
From the Great Falls Tribune