Kalispell Grand Hotel - Kalispell, Montana
Posted by: BruceS
N 48° 11.861 W 114° 18.811
11U E 699624 N 5341762
Historic hotel located in downtown Kalispell, Montana.
Waymark Code: WM28DE
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 09/22/2007
Views: 57
Running water, wake up calls and doors with locks were just a few of the
amenities travelers could expect in this classy and expensive $2-a-night hotel
which opened in 1912. Kalispell architect Marion Riffo designed the
three-story landmark built by local contractor B. Brice Gilliland. Since
five other hotels closer to the railroad tracks offered stiff competition, a
rooftop electric sign - of of the largest in the northwest - beckoned travelers.
Hotel proprietors included Montana author Frank Linderman who managed the
business from 1924 to 1926. His frequent guest was renowned Charlie
Russell. Sale of the hotel lease brought Linderman enough profit to allow
him to continue his writing. In later decades, the hotel fell on
hard times and guests became less particular. Renovations, begun in 1989,
transformed the original 52 rooms with "facilities down the hall" into a modern
40-room hotel. But the historic ambience remains in the lofty tin ceilings
and oak stairway that still grace the spciaous lobby, inviting visitors to
imagine a bygone era. ~ text of marker
The hotel is listed as a contributing property in the Main Street Commercial
Historic District on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.