Florence Hotel
About this property
The Florence Hotel is a seven-story Moderne-style building in Downtown Missoula, Montana, which was completed in 1941. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Standing at 7 floors it is the 5th tallest building in Missoula. It is located at 111 North Higgins Avenue. Since its original construction in 1888, The Florence Hotel offered weary railway travelers and settlers a comfortable night's lodging. When it burned in 1913, The Florence was rebuilt as a major 106-room hostelry and was a longtime regional gathering place until it, too, was destroyed by fire in 1936. Missoula's lack of a major hotel had serious implications, and even though the nation was then in the midst of the Great Depression, Walter H. McLeod and other influential businessmen secured community support to rebuild. Constructed in 1941 on the same site as the two earlier buildings, today's Florence was brought to life by Spokane, Washington architect G.A. Pehrson who masterfully designed the $600,000 “jewel of a hotel” in its current Art Moderne style. For the next three decades the Florence continued to welcome visitors to downtown Missoula and Big Sky Country. In fact, “Howdy” met Hollywood when John Wayne famously slumbered at The Florence—adding to the romantic notion of the Wild West mingling with the opulent splendor of the hotel's signature style. The Florence was ahead of its time with the Northwest's first central air conditioning system, novel glass shower doors, underground parking for the growing number of Americans traveling by automobile, and first-class interior appointments in a “harmony of color.” The Florence remained a hotel until the 1970s when the building was transformed once again—this time into an office complex with retail businesses occupying the main floor. The current owner is a structural engineer from Dallas, Texas, Thomas Taylor, whose goal has been to maintain the building's "old-fashioned" aesthetic or "nostalgic charm".
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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.
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Questions about this property
When was Florence Hotel listed on the National Register?
Florence Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 17, 1992.
What type of historic resource is Florence Hotel?
Florence Hotel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Florence Hotel?
The period of significance for Florence Hotel is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Florence Hotel?
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 Florence Hotel will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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