Property Record
43 HIGH ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Hotel Royal |
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| Other Name: | Royal Inn |
| Contributing: | Yes |
| Reference Number: | 46747 |
| Location (Address): | 43 HIGH ST |
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| County: | Iowa |
| City: | Mineral Point |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
| Range: | |
| Direction: | |
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| Year Built: | 1900 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 19821993 |
| Historic Use: | hotel/motel |
| Architectural Style: | Queen Anne |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | F.H. Kemp |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Mineral Point Historic District |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 7/30/1971 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. THIS THREE-STORY HOTEL BUILDING, WHICH WAS CONSTRUCTED IN 1900 (SEE BIB. REF. A), WAS DESIGNED IN THE CLASSICAL REVIVAL AND QUEEN ANNE STYLES. IT FEATURES A RECTANGULAR SHAPED PLAN CONFIGURATION, A STONE FOUNDATION, A BRICK EXTERIOR, A WOOD TRIM AND A SHINGLED, FLAT ROOF. THE WIDE CORNICE IS DISTINGUISHED BY DECORATIVE BRICKWORK, A LOW PEDIMENT AND A PAIR OF OCCULUS ON THE FRONT ELEVATION. A THREE-STORY, CONICAL-ROOFED TURRET OVERHANGS THE CORNER ENTRANCE. PROJECTING FORWARD ON THE FACADE IS A TWO-STORY DECKED WOODEN PORCH, ACCENTED BY PAIRED TUSCAN COLUMNS AND BALUSTRADED RAILINGS. STONE LINTELS AND SILLS ADORN THE WINDOWS THROUGOUT THE STRUCTURE. THE BUILDING IS IN GOOD CONDITION. THIS BUILDING, WHICH WAS HISTORICALLY KNOWN AS THE HOTEL ROYAL, WAS USED AS A HOTEL FROM 1900 TO 1929. (SEE BIB. REF. A). On Easter Sunday, 1901, a special excursion train from Chicago, Beloit, and Janesville marked the grand opening of this hotel. The building was constructed by two Chamley brothers. Building is believed to have been the first in town to feature individual bathrooms, telephones in the bedrooms, central steam heat, and electric lights with brass chain fixtures. Most of the furnishings came from Chicago's Marshall Fields' and the final cost of construction was $25,000. [D] THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNATED LOCALLY, BECOMING PART OF THE MINERAL POINT LANDMARK DISTRICT IN 1972. 2012- " Built by the Chamley brothers, John and Will, who were born in Mineral Point to parents who came from the north of England. Their father, George W. Chamley, ran a hotel in a log bulding when he first came to Mineral Point. He was then the proprietor of the City Hotel on the corner of High and Commerce streets before purchasing the Wisconsin House on Commerce Street. The Hotel Royal, at the time it opened, was considered one of the most luxuirous hotels in southwestern Wisconsin. The furniture and furnishings were from Marshall Fields in Chicago and the rooms included such modern amenities as telephones It opened on Easter Sunday, 1901; an eight piece orchestra provided music for the celbration and 190 people dined in the dining room. This building operated as a hotel until 1970 when the hotel rooms were closed and the main floor remodeled and operated as a supper club." -from "A Field Guide to Mineral Point" by Nancy Pfotenhauer of the Mineral Point Historical Society, 1st Edition, 2012, Little Creek Press. |
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| Bibliographic References: | “Architecture/History Survey: Reconstruct USH 151: Dodgeville To Belmont.” WHS project number 92-0510IA/LT. October 1993. Prepared by Great Lakes Archaeological Research Center (GLARC). A. THE IOWA COUNTY DEMOCRAT, 10 MAY 1900; 20 SEPTEMBER 1900; 22 NOVEMBER 1900; 11 APRIL 1900; 28 NOVEMBER 1901; 28 JULY 1904. MINERAL POINT TAX RECORDS, 1840-1900; SANBORN MAP, CITY OF MINERAL POINT, WI (NEW YORK: SANBORN MAP CO., 1884-1929). B. Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tour brochure, 2000. C. The Improvement Bulletin 3/31/1900. D. Mineral Point Chamber/Main Street & The Mineral Point Historical Society, Historic Mineral Point Architectural Walking Tours, not dated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |