Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe
Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 408-410 2nd St., NW. Mason City, Iowa |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 43°09′13.6″N 93°12′28.3″W / 43.153778°N 93.207861°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1915 |
| Architectural style | Early Commercial |
| NRHP reference No. | 02001543[1] |
| Added to NRHP | December 20, 2002 |
Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe, also known as the Dodge House-Long Branch, is a historic building located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. Its construction, completed in 1915, was a project undertaken by local real estate developer Meir Wolf. Built as a two-story building a block away from the passenger and freight depots of the Chicago and North Western Railroad and the Chicago Great Western Railway. The building was intended as a railroad hotel, allowing passengers and rail employees to avoid the six- to eight-block trip downtown. It is the only remaining railroad hotel left in Mason City.[2] Hotel guests stayed in the 29 rooms on the second floor, and three commercial spaces on the first floor were occupied by a variety of restaurants, grocery stores and barbershops. Its most famous guest was track star Jesse Owens, who was in town in December 1937 for a basketball exhibition. He could not stay at the other hotels in town because of his race.[2] In 1975, The hotel was renamed the Dodge House, with the Long Branch Saloon replacing the former café. By that time it was largely used as a rooming house, and it was used to house the homeless.[3] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.[1]
An arsonist set fire to the building on September 6, 2006, and did significant damage to the structure. It had been vacant for five years at that time.[3] In 2007, the second floor was removed and the first floor converted into four apartments.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ a b Beth Enright. "Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe". National Park Service. Retrieved December 8, 2016. with photos
- ^ a b Mary Pieper (September 7, 2006). "Dodge House linked to Mason City's railroad history". Globe Gazette. Mason City. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- ^ John Skipper (August 1, 2007). "Long Branch being restored as apartments". Globe Gazette. Mason City. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
| Topics | |
|---|---|
| Lists by state |
|
| Lists by insular areas | |
| Lists by associated state | |
| Other areas | |
| Lists of specific structure types | |
| Related | |
 | This article about a property in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a building or structure in Iowa is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- Hotel buildings completed in 1915
- Buildings and structures in Mason City, Iowa
- National Register of Historic Places in Mason City, Iowa
- Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa
- Commercial architecture in Iowa
- Northeast Iowa Registered Historic Place stubs
- Iowa building and structure stubs