With “ sleek and streamlined”  Art Moderne lines, the Florence Hotel once billed itself as“ America’s Finest Small Hotel.”  Built in 1941 the hotel’s design is a stunning example of the Art Deco trend of the era, but the hotel’s history goes back much further. Between 1888 and 1892, Missoula businessman A. B. Hammond oversaw the construction of three buildings at the intersection of Higgins Avenue and Front Street in the heart of Missoula, including the hotel he named for his wife, Florence. In 1913, fire destroyed the hotel, but it was quickly rebuilt. Two decades later, it burned again in what the Daily Missoulian called a “ disastrous conflagration” that shocked the city.

The loss of the Florence in 1936 meant that Missoula lacked a major hotel at a time when the Great Depression already strained the local economy. Missoula businessman Walter H. McLeod responded to the challenge by spearheading the project to rebuild the Florence. He secured the services of Spokane architect Gustav A. Pehrson who designed the hotel that would serve as a gathering place for Missoula’s elite for the next three decades. The structure includes several features uncommon to the region, such as glass shower doors, a central air-conditioning system, and a parking garage that lifted vehicles off the ground floor.

In the 1970s, the hotel ceased operation and the building’s owners converted it into offices. Nevertheless, main floor retail shops and restaurants provide continuity and an opportunity to experience the Florence’s historic charm. Currently, two restaurants—the Red Bird Wine Bar and Restaurant and the Catalyst Café—are located there, and plans are in the works to one day return the Florence to its glory as Missoula’s premier downtown hotel.

Credits and Sources:

Cohen, Stan. Missoula County Images, volume II. Missoula: Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 1993.

The Florence. “ America’s Finest Little Hotel.” http://www.theflorence.com/history/, accessed May 5, 2015.

Koelbel, Lenora. Missoula, The Way It Was: A Portrait of an Early Western Town. Missoula: Gateway Publishing and Printing, 1972.

Mathews, Allan James.  “ A Guide to Historic Missoula,” Montana Mainstreets, vol. 6. Helena: Montana Historical Society, 2003.

National Park Service. “ National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, Missoula Downtown Historic District.”  2003.

Photographs courtesy of Archives & Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana, Missoula, Montana.