Hotel Hamilton Was Once a First Class Hotel in Two Rivers

Hotel Hamilton, Two Rivers in 1919; LESTER PUBLIC LIBRARY / HUBERT R. WENTORF PHOTO COLLECTION

On November 17, 1904, The Manitowoc Pilot reported that plans had been completed for the erection of a new, modern, up-to-date hotel at Two Rivers and work on the construction of the building had begun under the direction of H. H. Richards, a Chicago architect.

The Hotel Hamilton opened on July 1, 1905 on the northwest corner of Washington Street and Smith Avenue (now 15th Street).

The hotel was a project of The Two Rivers Improvement Co., a local stock company organized in 1904 and headed by J. E. Hamilton, to provide the city with a modern, up-to-date hotel and boarding house for employees of the Hamilton Mfg. Co. and other factories in Two Rivers.

The three-story brick veneer hotel, 110 × 200 ft., set on a stone foundation, had a canopied front entrance on Washington Street. The hotel contained 73 rooms, all with outside windows, and could accommodate 100 guests. The building had steam heat, electric lights, phones and indoor plumbing. Fire escapes were located on the front and south sides of the building. Views of the lake and harbor were visible from the hotel’s upper windows.

The main floor featured a lobby, dining room, kitchen, saloon, billiard room, parlor and office. The dining room had a seating capacity of 200. D. D. Smith, an experienced hotel man from Chicago, was the first manager and supervised construction. Herman Grau was in charge of the buffet. Archie Taubert managed the billiard and pool parlors.

Other early hotel proprietors included John B. Stitgen, H. C. Stephens, William S. Wood and his son Hiram O. Wood. In 1915, while William Wood was manager, the Western Union telegraph office moved from the North Western railroad depot to an upstairs room at the Hotel Hamilton.

In 1919, the Hotel Hamilton was purchased by Ernest H. Wey of Peru, Indiana, who operated the hotel for 26 years until his retirement.

In May of 1945, the Hotel Hamilton was sold to J. Herschel Hardy, head of the Hardy International Hotel Company, Chicago, which owned a chain of 140 hotels, including older hotels at Ashland, Spooner, Antigo and Merrill.

During the time Hardy owned the Hotel Hamilton, the property was leased to several different parties including the Ledam Hotel Corporation, headed by Peter Madel of Waseca, Minnesota (1945-1947); O. W. Hall, Minneapolis (1947-1950); Henry Van Wingen, Racine (1950-1952); and Joseph Kerrigan, Appleton (1952-1955).

During its many years, the Hotel Hamilton hosted meetings, wedding receptions and society events. In 1948, the hotel welcomed Coach Earle Neale and the Philadelphia Eagles football team of the National Football League when they arrived for a week of training at Walsh Field. The Eagles had previously trained in Two Rivers during 1941 and 1942.

During the late 1940s and early 1950s, Milton Detjen of Manitowoc played the organ in the hotel’s cocktail lounge.

By the mid-1950s, the popularity of the Hotel Hamilton had peaked, as ownership and management changed hands a number of times. The hotel’s future became uncertain when, on May 23, 1955, the State Industrial Commission ordered the hotel closed for failure to meet safety and sanitary standards.

Despite efforts, encouraged and supported by the city of Two Rivers, to reopen the hotel, the building stood vacant for nine years until it was razed in 1964.

For 34 years, the property remained undeveloped until 1998 when The Medicine Shoppe pharmacy was built on the site of the old hotel at 1500 Washington Street, just south of First Star Bank (now U.S. Bank) in Two Rivers.