For Twenty-five long years, the Sheraton-Ritz in Minneapolis sat across the street from the Downtown Library between Nicollet Mall and Marquette Avenue. The swanky hotel was one of the first things built after the city condemned and demolished everything they could for the Gateway District Urban Renewal Project. Construction began in 1961 and the 19 story, Sheraton Ritz opened 305 air-conditioned rooms to the public in 1963. The new hotel was done up in a 60s modern style.
The white marble lobby flashed an assortment chrome metal accents and fixtures. On the ground level a plaza and shopping arcade included the International Design Center, an importer of Scandinavian home furnishings that has since fled to Edina. Exquisite dining was available at hearty Cheshire Cheese and La Promenade restaurants and guests could get a drink at Sadie’s Parlour, a fun rooftop lounge. Soon after it opened, the glamorous hotel was featured in several episodes of a television show called, Route 66. Over the years the Ritz-Sheraton counted celebrities Bob Hope, Henry Fonda, Ed Sullivan and at least two Presidents of the United Sates among its guests. The hotel changed hands and names a few times in the 80’s. Citing a lack of business, the plush hotel closed in 1988. It was demolished a couple years later. The site was used as a parking lot for many years, then somebody built a big tower of condos on half of it.
