The Hotel Duluth opened 100 years ago this month. Business operations began on May 8, 1925, and a formal grand opening was held May 22-23.

“L. L. Tipple, manager of the hotel, received a signal from Walter Schroeder of Milwaukee, president of the Duluth Hotel company, and the doors of the institution were opened to the public for the first time,” the Duluth Herald reported about the May 8 opening in its special section on the hotel, published on May 21. “Thousands of Duluth men and women thronged the hotel throughout the evening, the line of visitors continuing until nearly midnight, while the inspection by many thousands more continued all the next day.”

A PDF of the Herald’s 28-page look at the Hotel Duluth can be viewed and downloaded with the link below.

Duluth Herald Hotel Duluth Edition

The 14-story Hotel Duluth was the tallest hotel in the northwest when it opened. It was designed by Milwaukee architects Martin Tullgren & Sons and built at a cost of $2.4 million.

In 1980 the 400-room hotel was converted into 150 apartments for moderate-income elderly people, and its name was changed to the Greysolon Plaza.

Below are some Hotel Duluth photos and promotional materials.