The dashed dreams of the Sheridan Hotel in 1920s downtown Minneapolis

March 24, 2021 at 2:00PM
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The builder had high hopes for the Sheridan Hotel at 11th and Marquette in Minneapolis. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Marquette Avenue and S. 11th Street.

They dreamed big in the '20s, but their visions exceeded the depth of their pocketbooks. The envisioned Sheridan was never built, and perhaps we should be glad: Given the fate of the old downtown hotels, it would be hard to think they'd torn this down on purpose.

They did build something. Occupying the block where Orchestra Hall now sits, the Sheridan was a three-story apartment hotel without any distinctions, except for a nice green lawn. But boom years made developers draw up grand schemes, and Morris T. Baker conceived of a new Sheridan. The announcement of the design was front-page news in 1929.

Alas, the stock market crash that year dried up the money. Instead of the 20-story monster, only a small, thin, 10-story wing was built. In 1969, the Minneapolis Star announced that demolition of the Sheridan would begin by year's end. It would be replaced by a new hotel, possibly a high-rise Howard Johnson's!

But like the big vision of the Sheridan, the HoJo plans came to naught. Don't feel bad for Morris Baker, though. His name lives on in the wildlife preserve in the Maple Plain park that bears his name, and of course the Baker building in downtown Minneapolis. The Sheridan may be forgotten, but the man who had a grand dream is still remembered.

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(Photos: Vintage postcard and Star Tribune file/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

James Lileks

Columnist

James Lileks is a Star Tribune columnist.

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