Rochester, MN (KROC AM News) - Is a downtown Rochester hotel that was built nearly 100 years ago worth saving? That’s what the City Council may decide next month.

A proposal to demolish the Days Inn and construct a new hotel and residential complex on the site recently surfaced. Is there enough history on the side of the old hotel to save it from a wrecking ball?

The Rochester Heritage Preservation Commission was briefed on the proposal Tuesday night.

It approved a recommendation that requires the City Council to hold a public hearing to determine if the building should be given what’s known as Landmark Designation. If so, the council would have to decide if the building should be preserved. It could also decide it’s not worth saving but historic aspects of the building should be preserved.

The developer has applied for a demolition permit, which would likely be addressed during the public hearing.

City Clerk Aaron Reeves anticipates the council will hold a hearing next month.  

The Days Inn opened in 1920 as the Hotel Carlton. It is the last of the independently-operated hotels that opened in the early 1900’s to serve Mayo Clinic’s growing patient business. Plans to demolish the property to make way for new projects date back to the 1970’s.  

Read more about the hotel here. Pretty interesting stuff if you're into local history.

 

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