Hotel Ottumwa
About this property
Hotel Ottumwa is an historic hotel located in downtown Ottumwa, Iowa, United States. Built from 1916 to 1917, it played a significant part in the city's social history and commercial development. By 1915, what had been Otuumwa's first-class hotel, the Ballingall Hotel, was in decline and a group of local businessmen met to plan for the new development. They organized a corporation to sell shares to the local citizens. A total of 309 people bought shares, with the average investment being $500. A further $150,000 was realized by selling bonds. A banquet was held on September 4, 1917, and a grand reception and ball was held two days later to celebrate the opening of the hotel. Over the years various businesses occupied the main floor storefronts. Bowling alleys were added in the basement in 1927. Radio station WIAS broadcast from the hotel from 1928, when it moved to Ottumwa from Burlington, Iowa, until 1934 when it went off the air. Major renovations were undertaken in 1939 and 1951. It was purchased by the Schwartz family in 1982, when it was operating as the Parkview Plaza. They renovated it again and returned it to its historic name. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The Neoclassical building was designed by the prominent Des Moines architectural firm of Proudfoot, Bird and Rawson. The six-story brick structure rises to a height of 71.5 feet (22 m). The reinforced concrete structure was built by the J.C. Mardis Company. The exterior of the building is covered in dark brown brick and features classical details in terra cotta. From the third to the sixth floors the building is U-shaped. It is capped with a galvanized iron cornice decorated with egg-and-dart, dentils, triglyphs and metopes, rosettes, and swags.
Location
Categories
Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Everything a full report reveals about Hotel Ottumwa
This page lists Hotel Ottumwa. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Hotel Ottumwa listed on the National Register?
Hotel Ottumwa was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 24, 2012.
What type of historic resource is Hotel Ottumwa?
Hotel Ottumwa is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Hotel Ottumwa?
The period of significance for Hotel Ottumwa is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Hotel Ottumwa?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Hotel Ottumwa will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Wapello County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Wapello County.
Explore WapelloCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Hotel Ottumwa will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.