National Hotel

from an 1873 map of Winnebago County

 

What with all the attention surrounding the demise of the Hotel Menasha, it was only fitting that I should come across this beautiful rendering of the National Hotel which sat upon that same ground until it burned down. As we've detailed here before, the National Hotel was built in 1869 by Reuben M. Scott and was run by John Roberts, who later established Roberts Resort on Doty Island. The hotel had 42 steam-heated rooms that let for $2.00 per day. As the center for social life within the city for its time, it was sorely missed after the fire in 1901. The Hotel Menasha was built on the site four years later.