Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , The Tremont House , The northwest corner lot across the street at W. Water and N. Mill Streets has a history dating back to 1856 when Englishman Eli George bought the lot and the Tremont House, a hotel, was built the next year. Involved in projects on several fronts, George owned a farm near Decorah and his house two miles east of Decorah on the Lansing and McGregor Road served as an inn for travelers. By 1860 the downtown Tremont House was managed by Ira Protheroe who had run a hotel for fifteen years in New York State before arriving in Decorah. But by 1864, Eli George was running the Tremont House and it was proclaimed as "thoroughly finished and furnished throughout, and a large addition built on, including a Ball Room." The novelty of running a hotel had evidently paled two years later when George put the Tremont House up for sale. George wanted to concentrate on raising and selling livestock and felt he couldn't attend to both businesses. H.B. Woodward rented the hotel and continued to operate it. Near the end of 1866, George advertised both the Tremont House and his farm for sale under the caption "OFF FOR CALIFORNIA!!" Three months later the Tremont House, granary, and barn were a total loss as a fire that, according to a local newspaper article, should be "attributed to incendiaries" consumed them. With prophetic foresight, George had taken out four insurance policies on the Tremont House and three on the barn and granary totaling $8,500. Assessed value of the property had been $6,300 in 1865. A week after the fire, George tried to interest Decorah citizens in helping him rebuild the hotel in brick "if the citizens will make up a purse of $2,000." Apparently there were no takers and George sold the property to local investors in 1867 before leaving town and eventually ending up farming in Kansas by 1880. , The Arlington House , With back taxes owed by Eli George, the hotel property was purchased by Horace S. Weiser and Dr. John M. Green. Green, along with brothers Diebold and Valentine Stoskopf, planned a new luxury hotel, and the Arlington House, an ornate Italianate style building, was opened on February 1, 1877. Italianate features included a wide cornice, repeated single roof brackets, symmetrically placed rows of windows, decorative hood molds over windows and doors, two-over-two double-hung sash windows, and balconies with Roman balusters. The hotel featured 28 rooms, a bridal suite, Brussels carpeting in the halls and elegant furnishings in the parlor. A news article assured, “The traveling public, patronizing the Arlington House, will be pleased with the general neatness the house wears and need suffer no apprehension from the nocturnal attack of bed bugs.” , But the location of the hotel soon proved its downfall when planned rail lines into Decorah from the northwest failed to materialize. The Arlington House was located seven blocks away from the existing passenger depot at the east end of Water Street, so many passengers booked rooms at the east end city hotels rather than traveling the longer distance to the Arlington House. Five years after it was opened, the Arlington House, originally built as a luxury hotel, was serving as a boarding house for students from the Decorah Institute, a local preparatory school. , The Lutheran Publishing House , By 1890 the Lutheran Publishing House, established in Decorah in 1878, purchased the hotel. After altering the interior rooms to suit their purposes, their presses and machinery were installed and printing and bookbinding were underway. When the business flourished, a branch office was opened in Minneapolis. By 1913 additional space was added to the building and remodeling altered the exterior. Balconies and decorative trim were removed and the remaining window hood molds and roof brackets became the only reminder of the elegant building the Arlington House had once been. , Luther College Museum to Vesterheim Museum , In a consolidation move, the Lutheran Publishing House relocated to Minneapolis in 1931. Luther College then acquired the old hotel/printing facility to house its extensive museum collection dating back to 1877. Although it had a variety of artifacts ranging from natural curiosities to memorabilia, the focus by 1900 had turned to "gathering all that would throw light on the contributions of those of Norwegian descent to this country." Known as the Norwegian-American Historical Museum, the college museum opened at its new location in 1933. In the 1970s, restoration work on the exterior was begun. Roof brackets (48), balusters (180), and sheet-metal window caps (21) were fabricated and installed, restoring the outside of the building to its elegant 1877 character. The original pediments and urns above the cornices were not replaced. Attended by King Olav V of Norway, a dedication ceremony in 1975 celebrated the completion of the restoration project. , Today, the restored Arlington House building is home to Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum. Now an independent, non-profit Organization, the museum showcases the most extensive collection of Norwegian-American artifacts in the world, and includes over 24,000 artifacts, 12 historic buildings, a Folk Art School, and a library and archives. USA Today named Vesterheim one of the "ten great places in the nation to admire American folk art." , [other photo captions] , . The 1856 Averill Map of Decorah shows the corner lot #7 that Eli George purchased in 1856. The Tremont House was built a year later on this lot. , . The Sanborn fire insurance map of 1885 shows the Arlington House as Arlington Hall, a student boarding house. , Funding for this sign provided by: Barbara and Richard Amundson