Omaha Hotel

	Omaha Hotel
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Building in 2013
Location	7th Street and Clay Street, Neillsville, Wisconsin
Coordinates	44°33′41″N90°35′59″W / 44.5615°N 90.5997°W Coordinates: 44°33′41″N90°35′59″W / 44.5615°N 90.5997°W
Built	1892–1893
Architectural style	Late Victorian
NRHP reference #	13000101 [1]
Added to NRHP	March 20, 2013

Last updated September 10, 2019

The Omaha Hotel is a former railroad hotel in Neillsville, Wisconsin, that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1893 near a railroad depot to serve middle-income and business travelers. It continued to operate as a hotel until the 1940s, during which time it was renamed the Hotel Paulus and later the Hamilton Hotel.

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refrigerator and other kitchen facilities, upholstered chairs, a flat screen television, and en-suite bathrooms. Small, lower-priced hotels may offer only the most basic guest services and facilities. Larger, higher-priced hotels may provide additional guest facilities such as a swimming pool, business centre, childcare, conference and event facilities, tennis or basketball courts, gymnasium, restaurants, day spa, and social function services. Hotel rooms are usually numbered to allow guests to identify their room. Some boutique, high-end hotels have custom decorated rooms. Some hotels offer meals as part of a room and board arrangement. In the United Kingdom, a hotel is required by law to serve food and drinks to all guests within certain stated hours. In Japan, capsule hotels provide a tiny room suitable only for sleeping and shared bathroom facilities.

Neillsville is a city in Clark County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 2,463 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat.

National Register of Historic Places Federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred in preserving the property.

History

Entrepreneurs Peter and Ed Weber saw an opportunity to cater to railroad travelers in Neilsville in the late 19th century.^[2] The Webers purchased a lot to the immediate south of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway, less than a block away from the Neilsville depot.^[3] The hotel was built by August Schoengarth;^[4] construction began with the foundation in November 1892 and finished in 1893.^[5] The Webers chose the name Omaha Hotel, which created the perception that it was affiliated with the railroad. The rear of the hotel was visible from the depot platform and used as a billboard to travelers, advertising its rate. The hotel operated on the European Plan, excluding meals from the room price. The hotel was not intended for luxury, instead catering to middle-income and business travelers.^[3]

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway and the North Wisconsin Railway. The Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) gained control in 1882. The C&NW leased the Omaha Road in 1957 and merged the company into itself in 1972. Portions of the C. St. P. M. and O. are part of the Union Pacific Railroad network. This includes main lines from Wyeville, Wisconsin, to St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Paul to Sioux City, Iowa.

In 1908, James Paulus purchased the hotel and renamed it the Hotel Paulus. "Hotel Paulus" was added to the west face of the hotel, the sign remains today. Beginning in the 1920s, the hotel was operated by Clarence Hamilton and known as the Hamilton Hotel. The hotel was vacant by the early 1940s. Furniture dealer and undertaker Herbert Lowe bought the building in July 1945; he converted the second floor into apartments and used the first floor to store furniture.^[6]

The 2003–2004 Neillsville Architectural Survey identified the hotel as possibly eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The building was listed on the Register on March 20, 2013.^[7]As of 2013^[update], the Omaha Hotel is one of two historic hotels that survive in Neillsville.^[8] The owners of the building intend to rehabilitate the structure and turn it into residential and retail space.^[9]

Design

The building is located at the western edge of the town's commercial district, at the northeast corner of the intersection of 7th Street and Clay Street.^[5]^[10] It is a two-story, late Victorian rectangular building measuring 45 by 42 feet (14 by 13 m) with a 10 by 14 feet (3.0 by 4.3 m) one-story wing along the east wall.^[2]^[5] The exterior consists of red clay bricks manufactured locally and laid in running bond. The foundation is stone with a full basement. The south and west walls face the street and are topped with a bracketed metal cornice. The north and east faces of the building are utilitarian in appearance.^[5] The property includes one "non-contributing" garage built circa 1970.^[9] A non-original one-story aluminum addition extends from the north wall of the wing flush to the north face of the building.^[11]

Cornice horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture

In architecture, a cornice is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building or furniture element – the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the top edge of a pedestal or along the top of an interior wall. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown.

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References

↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 20.
1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 18.
↑ Staff. "Property Record: 317 W 7TH ST". Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
1 2 3 4 Lacey 2013, p. 6.
↑ Lacey 2013, p. 19.
↑ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 3/25/13 Through 3/29/13". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved April 21, 2013.
↑ Lacey 2013, p. 11.
1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 10.
↑ Lacey 2013, p. 28.
↑ Lacey 2013, p. 9.

Bibliography

Lacey, Patricia (2013). "NRHP Nomination: Omaha Hotel" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.

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[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.

[FOOTNOTELacey201320-2] 1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 20.

[FOOTNOTELacey201318-3] 1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 18.

[4] Staff. "Property Record: 317 W 7TH ST". Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved April 21, 2013.

[FOOTNOTELacey20136-5] 1 2 3 4 Lacey 2013, p. 6.

[FOOTNOTELacey201319-6] Lacey 2013, p. 19.

[7] "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 3/25/13 Through 3/29/13". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved April 21, 2013.

[FOOTNOTELacey201311-8] Lacey 2013, p. 11.

[FOOTNOTELacey201310-9] 1 2 Lacey 2013, p. 10.

[FOOTNOTELacey201328-10] Lacey 2013, p. 28.

[FOOTNOTELacey20139-11] Lacey 2013, p. 9.