Area less than one acre NRHP Reference # 83000336 Added to NRHP 10 February 1983 | Built 1910 (1910)
1924 Opened 1910 | |
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Location 400 E. Jefferson St., Springfield, Illinois Architectural style Colonial Revival architecture Similar Wyndham Springfield City Centre, Executive Mansion, Illinois State Capitol, Lincoln‑Herndon Law Offices State Hist, Oak Ridge Cemetery | ||
The St. Nicholas Hotel is a historic hotel located at 400 E. Jefferson St. in Springfield, Illinois, US.
The original building of the St. Nicholas Hotel was constructed in 1855. An annex was built on the hotel in 1910, and the current main building was constructed in 1924. The Georgian Revival main building was designed by the New York City architectural firm H.L. Stevens and Company. When the current main building opened, it was the second-tallest building in Springfield after the State Capitol.
During sessions of the Illinois General Assembly, the St. Nicholas Hotel became a meeting place for Illinois politicians, who often conducted political business within the building. The hotel has hosted many notable visitors to Springfield, including three U.S. Presidents: Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy.
Paul Powell lived in the St. Nicholas Hotel during his term as the Illinois Secretary of State. After his death in 1970, the executor of Powell's will found $750,000 ($4.63 million in present-day terms) in cash stored in shoeboxes, briefcases, and strongboxes in Powell's suite, room 546 of the hotel. As the money greatly exceeded Powell's salary, which was at the most $30,000 per year, a federal investigation examined Powell's behavior while in office. The investigation determined that Powell had acquired the money via illegal cash bribes and led to the imprisonment of several state contractors.
The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 10, 1983. It is the only remaining hotel in Springfield which dates from the 1920s or earlier.