McHenry's Riverside Hotel

For many years, the Riverside Hotel has stood out as one of McHenry's most distinguished buildings. The three story brick building was built by the Smith brothers, John W. and David, in 1864. It has outlived most of the other structures and hotels that have once graced the town of McHenry. Over time, the building has been many things including a hotel, roller rink and most recent, apartments. Regardless of what the business in the structure was, the Riverside was often the hub of the city. Recently pleasant renovations have helped bring back some of the splendor from the hotel's heyday.

The history of the site actually precedes the Riverside Hotel. In 1837, a Henry McLean built a 12x16 log structure that served as a preaching house, a tavern, and reportedly a school. Essentially, it served as a versatile place of entertainment for the fledgling village. The growing village had a demand for hotels, with several being built in a short amount of time. In 1851 a Mr. Baldwin built a wooden frame hotel, known as the Fremont House. The hotel ran for eight years, before it was lost in a fire.

John W. and David Smith built what would be the Riverside House in 1864. The impressive brick structure stood three stories tall and measured at 40 x 60 feet, with a ball room on the top floor, which stood 13 1/2 feet tall. Travelers weren't the only ones to frequent the Riverside. Many groups and organizations also held events and stayed there. In its heyday, it was said that the ballroom could comfortably hold up to 300 or 400 people. The upstairs also served as a roller rink that had one of the finest floors in the area. The ballroom also had room for a band to play along with the dancers/skaters. The Riverside was designed with a wooden porch that ran around the building on its first and second floors. It then had concrete posts instead the wooden ones. After its hotel years, they porches were mostly removed altogether.

During the early 20th century, Riverside owner, J.I. Story made additional rooms in the top floor, giving the hotel approximately 38 rooms. As the hotel business started to fade, the rooms were eventually converted into apartments by the 1940s. The hotel's first floor served a variety of purposes. Business offices, dentists, doctors and a lounge were all held on that floor. The basement area originally was used to store materials that would help make guests comfortable. Then, in the early 1900s it was converted to the kitchen for serving guests. By 1910, seeing a source of additional income, owners converted the kitchen area into a bar and billiards hall, moving the kitchen to the northeast corner of the building. In the 1930s, the Riverside was known as Harry's New York Bar and Riverside Hotel, with the bar being in the downstairs area. In the 1940s, the Fox Hole Lounge was opened in the basement, which is now Fox Hole Pizza.

History of McHenry County, Illinois : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns : educational religious, civil, military, and political history, portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens : also a condensed History of Illinois .... Chicago, Illinois. Chicago, Inter-State Publishing Co., 1885.

History of McHenry County Illinois. Volume Vol. 1. Chicago, Illinois. Munsell Pub. Co., 1922.

"Seek Larger Quarters." McHenry Plaindealer April 10th 1919.

"Chicago Couple New Owners of Riverside Hotel." McHenry Plaindealer February 11th 1937.

"Sidelights of Early Days In City Recalled." McHenry Plaindealer August 10th 1973.

"Riverside Hotel Full of Memories." McHenry Plaindealer July 15th 1986.

"Riverside Skating Rink." McHenry Plaindealer January 1st 1896.

"Management Changed At Riverside Hotel." McHenry Plaindealer January 13th 1938.

"Riverside House Club Opens." McHenry Plaindealer May 18th 1911.

"Wonderfully Improved." McHenry Plaindealer June 10th 1910.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from McHenry, McHenry County, Illinois. Sanborn Map Company, Jan, 1922. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01985_004/.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from McHenry, McHenry County, Illinois. Sanborn Map Company, Jul, 1893. Map. https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn01985_001/.