June 17, 1910: Duluth’s Holland House Hotel opens

On this day in Duluth in 1910 the Holland House Hotel opened at 501 West Superior Street. Designed by Duluth architects Bray & Nystrom, the six-story Holland Hotel’s opening was timed with that of the Soo Line Passenger Depot one block east of the hotel, which essentially brought out-of-town visitors to the hotel’s front door. The hotel was such a success that just a year later its owners added four more stories to the building. Built of red brick, the Holland offered 250 rooms by the time the top four floors were added. When it opened, the Holland advertised itself as “the first fireproof hotel in Duluth.” As with most other hotels at the time, not each room was furnished with its own bathroom; guests using rooms without a bathroom had access to communal bathrooms on each floor (150 of the Holland’s rooms had their own baths). Like almost every other hotel in the neighborhood, by the 1950s the Holland House saw a dramatic decline in popularity; it closed in 1961. It was then demolished as part of the Gateway Urban Renewal Project. Duluth’s Radisson Hotel was built on the Holland House lot in 1970. Learn more about the Holland House here.

The Holland House Hotel. (Image: Duluth Public Library)d