Willard Munger Inn has been in continuous operation since 1954, which seems to make it the oldest still-in-operation lodging in Duluth. If you count it in the motel category, which seems reasonable, that would confirm that the no-hotels-for-43-years claim didn't include motels.

The article linked to by Gina refers to the Radisson as a “high-rise motor hotel,” which turns out to be a very particular concept that ties together a lot of the ideas in this post. 

An architectural history of the Deville Motor Hotel describes how the motor hotel concept came to St. Louis and the general outline seems to fit the history of the Radisson pretty well.

The Deville was the first hotel built in St. Louis since 1929 and constructed immediately after major demolitions of low income neighborhoods under the concept of urban renewal. Built with ample parking, “the construction of motor hotels within the city limits was one tactic employed to attract travelers and pleasure-seekers back into the urban core.”

The idea was to have the same benefits of the motel concept – long low-rise buildings in suburban areas with surface parking lots that provided easy accessibility for motorists – but in an urban setting. As described in the article, “this was a new breed of buildings ... 'too sumptuous to be classified as motels, [combining] the features of a major downtown hotel complex with the conveniences of a highway motel ... [with] lavish extra touches designed to attract a free-spending clientele.'”

If you look at a photo of the Holland Hotel in the same location, you can see how its main entrance faces the street and it is surrounded by other city buildings rather than parking lots. The Radisson’s main entrance is at the back of the building, in a mid-block drive through that connects to a multi-level parking structure.

If you accept the motor hotel as its own category, an auto-oriented motel in an urban setting, does downtown Duluth have any hotels left at all? I think Fitger’s Inn would qualify. And the Sheraton and the Suites, even with rear entrances connected to large parking areas, still mimic the form of traditional urban hotels. 

Regardless of how we define a hotel, the Radisson definitely marked a change for Duluth in how urban hotels were designed (and as Gina noted, who they served), and not having any hotels in operation from before that period probably makes what might otherwise be a rather clear distinction rather difficult to see.