Hotel Yancey (Grand Island, Nebraska)

Hotel Yancey (The)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Hotel Yancey seen from the southwest
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Location	123 N. Locust St., Grand Island, Nebraska
Coordinates	40°55′28″N98°20′23″W / 40.92444°N 98.33972°W / 40.92444; -98.33972
Area	less than one acre
Built	1917-23
Architect	Francis W. Fitzpatrick, of Bankers Realty Investment Company
Architectural style	Late 19th And Early 20th Century American Movements, Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	84000504 [1]
Added to NRHP	December 13, 1984

The Hotel Yancey in Grand Island, Nebraska, also known as The Yancey Motor Inn, is an 11-story building built during 1917-1923 that remained, in 1982, the tallest building in the city at 201 feet (61 meters). It was named after its investor William Yancey. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. ^[1]

In addition to providing lodging to guests with its 150 rooms, ^[2] the original first-class hotel featured a billiard room, telegraph office, pharmacy, cigar stand, coffee shop and sample rooms. ^[3] It also housed KGEO, which was Grand Island's first radio station ^[2] and in 1976 it housed the Piccadilly Dinner Theatre. ^[4]

Architecture

Second-floor balconies on front (west) side of Hotel Yancey at 123 N. Locust St., Grand Island, Nebraska; seen from the southwest on January 8, 2010.

It was designed by architect Francis W. Fitzpatrick, an architect in Duluth, Minnesota, Washington, DC, Omaha, Nebraska, and Evanston, Illinois. ^[5] His other work in Nebraska was the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha, Nebraska,. ^[2]

Fitzpatrick designed the hotel to be fireproof. ^[6] Its design reflects Renaissance Revival architecture. ^[6]

The hotel was built with concrete post and beam construction, brick veneer exterior walls with limestone and terracotta trim. ^[6]

Construction

Construction began in 1917 with an original cost of $300,000, but was not completed until 1923. This was due to financial difficulties of the owners at the time, as well as reduced access to manpower and building materials as a result of World War I. Construction halted on May 28, 1918, before resuming five years later. ^[6]

Following its opening in October 1923, William Yancey was forced to end his ownership due to financial constraints posed by the Great Depression. He sold all the building's furnishings and closed the hotel in 1931. Herbert Daniels gained ownership of the property and reopened the hotel in 1933. ^[2]

Renovations

It was renovated in 1982, where they converted the hotel rooms of its upper nine floors into 57 residential condo units. ^[6]

In 2024, Paramount Development purchased condominium 201A on the second floor of the building and renovating it into an office space. The property was purchased for $40,000. ^[7]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Mckee, Jim (August 27, 2016). "Jim McKee:Yancey Hotels live on but not as hotels". The Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
3. THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE (January 30, 2025). "The Yancey". THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE. Retrieved April 27, 2025.
4. Korbelik, Jeff (June 21, 1998). "Final Curtain Grand Island theater ends its 22-year run". The Lincoln Journal Star. pp. 5–6.
5. Architect and engineer. San Francisco Public Library. San Francisco : Architect and Engineer, Inc. 1905.
6. Virginia F. Duncan (August 1984). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: The Hotel Yancey / The Yancey Motor Hotel". National Park Service . Retrieved August 7, 2016. with three photos from 1984
7. "Yancey Building at Grand Island Railside to get renovation". central.newschannelnebraska.com. Retrieved May 3, 2025.