Hotel Leamington

The era of grand hotels hit the Twin Cities just like it did across America in the early 20th century. Big, beautiful, fancy hotels popped up in and around the city centers of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

The Hotel Leamington was an incredible feature when it was added to the downtown Minneapolis skyline. It opened to the public on November 1, 1911. It was 10 stories high, making it one of the tallest buildings in the Twin Cities at the time. It was enormous, at a whopping 850 rooms. The upper floors were divided into high end suites, fitted with all the best furnishings, with costs sometimes reaching $10,000. Built and managed by Theodore Curtis of Minneapolis and Frank Mackey of London, the hotel was designed for opulence and comfort.

It had a huge array of food, shopping and entertainment right on the property for its guests. A main dining room, grill room, cafe, breakfast room, private dining room, assembly room and ballroom. An entire floor in the hotel was dedicated to clubrooms, with billiards for men and women, soda fountain, card and lounging rooms for men and women, a drug store, barber shop, delicatessen, flower shop, and a manicuring business. The roof garden, an uncommon special feature, opened for the first time in the spring of 1912.

At least for a period of time, the Leamington was dry. Original owner and manager T.F. Curtis said, in December 1911, that “The Leamington is a high class, metropolitan, family hotel where the tenants have the same rights and privileges that persons enjoy in the best appointed homes, and no others.” It’s not clear when specifically the restaurants and lounges at the Leamington started serving alcohol.

Because of the immense size of the hotel, real estate experts noted that Nicollet, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Avenues would carry more traffic than ever before. They also projected that 10th St. would become a fork of the main downtown arteries of Hennepin and Nicollet Avenues.

The hotel played host to many iconic events and memories. It became known as one of the most famous political theaters in the state. The Leamington hosted presidents, kings, and celebrities - including the likes of Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and President John F. Kennedy (who, when he stayed there in 1962, slept on his own mattress, flown in from the White House). King Olav of Norway dined on Minnesota Pheasant in 1975 during a visit to Minnesota. 1,000 people joined him at $25 a plate ($192 today).

The Leamington’s famous Hall of States played host to a memorable 1966 DFL Convention, Where delegates fought for 21 ballots over 2.5 days before endorsing A.M. “Sandy” Keith for governor over incumbent Karl Rolvaag. Hubert Humphrey waited for the presidential election results here in November 1968, and eventually conceded defeat.

By the 1950s, the hotel was in great need of a facelift, as decades had brought a dated and tired look to the interior. Seven years of renovations began in the ‘50s, as well as expanding its footprint/size to become a convention behemoth (the hotel was located very near to the Minneapolis Auditorium). 30 banquet and meeting rooms were added, with a total seating capacity of 6,000. They added 3 floors in 1962, where the new and upgraded suites were located.

The Leamington was drowning in debt into the 60s, due to the high cost of the major renovations and additions of the 50s. In 1964, local real estate developer Bob Short bought the Hotel Leamington. The purchase price was $325,000 ($3.2 million in 2024), with inherited debt of $7 million ( a staggering $69.5 million in 2024).

In 1978, Short ran for the Senate, winning the DFL nomination in an upset against Congressman (later Minneapolis mayor) Donald Fraser. He ultimately lost the general election to Republican David Durenberger, getting only 35% of the vote.

Bob Short died of cancer in 1982. By the late 1980s, the hotel was falling into disrepair, and in need of another major renovation. On March 31, 1986, the Leamington closed its doors for the last time. Short’s son, Brian, said that it would be “economic suicide” to keep operating the hotel. The massive complex would have needed roughly $20 million in renovations to compete with other, newer hotels in the area. In addition, the brand new, 800 room Hilton Hotel was being built 1 block away. If that project fell through, Brian Short said they would “consider” renovating and reopening. That never happened.

The Short family proposed demolition of the hotel, and that they would construct a 2,300 car parking ramp on the site of the old hotel. Ultimately, the City of Minneapolis instead accepted a plan to purchase the Leamington site for $16.3 million in April 1990. The building was demolished not long after. The city installed the Leamington Ramp on the site of the old hotel.