Built 1916 Opened 1916 Added to NRHP 12 January 1984 | NRHP Reference # 84001300 Architecture firm Proudfoot & Bird | |
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Location 321 E. Walnut St., Des Moines, Iowa Architectural style Renaissance Revival architecture Similar Teachout Building, Blank Park Zoo, Iowa State Capitol, Community Choice Credit Un, Greater Des Moines B | ||
The Northwestern Hotel is an historic building located in the East Village of Des Moines, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
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History
Opening in 1916, the Northwestern Hotel was built to serve the needs of railroad employees and other people of modest means. Other businesses housed on the first floor included a restaurant, cigar stand, and a drug store. Eventually the building went into a slow period of decline when a group of lawyers remodeled the building for office use in 1983. The building currently houses private businesses and United States Post Office branch.
Architecture
The building was designed by the Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird & Rawson. It is a three story structure with a decorative cornice at the roofline. Most of the building's decorations were limited to the lobby of the hotel when it was constructed. The first floor housed retail space in addition to the hotel’s lobby. A ballroom, with its own skylight, and guest rooms were on the second floor. The guest rooms of the second and third floor were generally small and were arranged around spaces with skylights. Some of the larger suites, which had a view of the capitol building, had their own bathrooms. The other guest rooms shared bathrooms.