Hotel Winneshiek & Steyer Opera House

The Hotel Winneshiek and the adjoining Steyer Opera House are two of Decorah's most important landmarks. The city built Hotel Winneshiek in 1905 and is the city's premier hotel. Luxembourg immigrant Joseph B. Steyer built the Steyer Opera House in 1870. It has served as a popular performance and event venue for most of its history. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it is now owned and operated by the hotel. Both buildings are contributing properties of the Decorah Commercial District, which was added to the National Register in 1980.

Steyer Opera House

Joseph B. Steyer immigrated to the United States in 1852. He was a stonecutter and lived in Ohio, Minnesota and perhaps other Midwestern states before arriving in Decorah in 1865. It isn't clear if he continued to work as a stonecutter but he did open a saloon and become a stockholder in the First National Bank. His success enabled him to build the Steyer Opera House in 1870. The building consisted of space for businesses on the first floor, offices and apartments on the second floor, and the hall and stage on the third floor.

In 1875, Steyer built an addition and renovated the hall, which included adding the curved balcony. The hall features decorative tin-covered walls and ceilings, and framed arched doorways on either side of the stage. Over the years, the hall was used for a variety of purposes besides performances such as community gatherings, political rallies, and dances. It was also used as a four-lane bowling alley, wrestling arena, roller skating arena, and basketball court. The Opera House gradually deteriorated over time however and was abandoned until 1997 when a two-year project to restore it began (the new owner also renovated the hotel as noted below). Today it is used for performances, weddings and other events.

Hotel Winneshiek

By the early 1900s it was clear to city officials that a new hotel worthy of Decorah's growing prosperity was needed. With an initial investment of $32,000 in seed money, they hired the Chicago firm Turnock & Ohrenstein to design the hotel. It is a fine example of Beau-Arts architecture, featuring a main entrance with a pair of classical columns and a small pediment above the doors. Decorative cartouches are located on each side of the door and above it. There is also a three-story octagonal lobby featuring a stained glass ceiling. The hotel opened on April 27, 1905 with 51 guest rooms.

New owners in the 1930s remodeled the hotel and that work included covering up the atrium and lobby. In the 1970s the building was converted into apartments. In 1997, a philanthropist from Chicago bought the old hotel and Opera House and proceeded to rehabilitate them. Hotel Winneshiek opened again on April 13, 2000. A family-owned company now operates the hotel.

Bowers, M.H. "Hotel Winneshiek." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. January 24, 1980. https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/80001462_text.

"Hotel History." Hotel Winneshiek. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://www.hotelwinn.com/about/history.