The Venerable Hotel Vendome
1947
The Hotel Vendome stood at 17 So. 4th street from 1885 to 1959. The Vendome was a landmark for much of the 20th century and was given it’s own page in the history of the city. The Hotel was considered by many at the time to be the center of commercial activities of Minneapolis. This is where the dirty old man that ran the city came to do business and it was the only place in town where old money could shake hands with new money under the table.
The Hotel had more than a few architectural flourishes including an ornate, faux French façade, columns and carved filigree. The Vendome’s stone crown sported a relief of Lady Liberty. The original part of the hotel was four floors high. An annex to the rear, constructed in 1909, contained seven floors. The building came down with the rest of the Stillman’s Block in December of 1959 as one of the first casualties of the city’s Gateway renewal efforts.
1913
When the Vendome was nearly destroyed by fire in 1902, the disaster was covered by newspapers all over the country. This gruesome account comes from a Valentines Day edition of the Grand Forks Herald. I found it on gendisasters.com, a website with the wonderful tagline, “Events That Touched Our Ancestors’ Lives”
ONE MAN PERISHED IN VENDOME FIRE.
aftermath
Minneapolis, Feb. 13. – The body of a man, supposed to be Martin Aker, of Montevideo, was discovered yesterday afternoon in the ruins of the Vendome hotel building, recently gutted by fire, by Thomas Morrow, a chimney sweep.
When discovered the remains were lying incased in ice in a depression of the floor about 30 feet back of the main entrance. The body reclined on one side and was covered with the debris of falling timbers. Although swollen and mutilated it was recognizable, being that of a young man, between 25 and 30 years of age, of medium height and weight and with dark brown or red mustache and hair.
The body was dressed in its underclothing and a black alpaca shirt. In the breast pocket of the shirt a pocketbook containing $141 in bills and a scarf pin were found.
The examination of the remains at the morgue showed that the body had evidently been scalded. The scalds are supposed to have been caused y hot water from the burning building which collected in the depression in which the body was found.
The body was positively identified yesterday by Dr. Bendeke, an eye specialist, as that of Martin Aker of Montevideo, a young druggist employed by K. A. Holman of that place.
He had been in Minneapolis Thursday to have his eyes treated. During the afternoon of that day the oculist fitted the young man’s eyes with glasses and told him to call two days later. Aker never returned and yesterday morning Dr. Bendeke received a telegram from Montevideo asking if Aker had been heard from since the fire at the Vendome hotel. A few hours later the remains were discovered in the ruins and Dr. Bendeke viewed them at the morgue.
