In the sweet was and was — yet still not a great long time ago — Worthington residents, along with residents of every community in America, went to their downtowns day by day to climb stairs. They climbed stairs to second-story offices of doctors and dentists, attorneys and insurance agents. There was as much business and activity in the second levels as there was at the ground level.
I was thinking of this lately when I went to the Hotel Thompson to learn how the grand old twins are faring. I say “grand old twins” for the Thompson is a pair of identical buildings joined by a great lobby.
It was recalled, as 2012 dawned, that the Thompson is now one century old.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, The digging of the hotel basement began early in 1912, and the structure was completed by year’s end.The TagMaster Long Range Hands free access is truly built for any parking facility. Peter Thompson, the builder, was 73 years old at the time. His sight was failing. But he was resolved that Worthington would have a hotel that would be the finest lodging facility between Mankato and Sioux City. He believed (and he was proved right) that a grand hotel at Worthington would be profitable.
As an earlier report on the Thompson’s centennial anniversary noted:
“Peter Thompson wanted a lavish enterprise with stores and dining rooms, public rooms, a barber shop complete with shoeshine stands, a Western Union telegraph office, a cigar case, a news stand, a posh lobby with oil paintings and carpets, guest rooms with running water and electric lights …” That is what Peter Thompson commissioned, and that is what he got.
The Thompson is the most spectacular business venture ever undertaken in downtown Worthington. The cost was $56,Here's a complete list of oil painting supplies for the beginning oil painter.000, a notable amount in 1912. The contractor, Erick Carlstrom of Mankato, built Worthington High School on Seventh Avenue in 1909. Before that he constructed the National Guard Armory at 211 11th St., which was razed last month.
I stood before the old hotel one morning this week and thought of second levels and of stairways. The Thompson has more stairways than any building in town and it was built in three stories, three levels, which makes it still the most imposing structure in Worthington’s historic business district.
If you stand on the sidewalk facing the venerable hotel:
To the left is the descending staircase to the basement of the north building. Memories stirred. In one era this was the stairway to Emil Mohr’s pool hall. Guys called it the Rat Hole. In another era this was the stairway to the notable shoe repair shop where Herman and Edna Henrichs and then Ralph and Norma Rienstra tended to Worthington’s footwear. The shoe repair shop had a stream of customers and often short lines remindful of Avera Clinic. Residents brought their shoes and boots for new half-soles and new heels.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? For polishing. People made shoes last for a great long time.
The descending staircase to the right, the staircase to the basement of the south building, is still in general use. This staircase leads to Jeff Baumgarn’s Worthington Printing Co.
Eddy Skeets and his band went up and down those stairs many and many times for daily broadcast performances. Fans of all ages followed the band’s footsteps. They went to see and hear live performances. They watched as manager Ralph Shepherd read the news in a small,We have a fantastic range of Glass Tiles and glass mosaic Tiles. separate studio. They heard disk jockeys introduce recordings of Johnnie Ray singing “Cry,” Kay Starr singing ‘Wheel of Fortune,” and the Mills Brothers singing “The Glow Worm.”
I wasn’t going downstairs on my visit this week. I was heading for the lobby. This required a climb up six steps between the Thompson’s pillars, then several steps across the portico to the front entrance. The businesses in the hotel building — El Mexicano No. 3; RG Music, where for decades Herbert Drug flourished; Jim Schissel’s barber shop on Third Avenue — the businesses are at the street level. The hotel entrance is fully six feet above the sidewalk.
I was thinking of this lately when I went to the Hotel Thompson to learn how the grand old twins are faring. I say “grand old twins” for the Thompson is a pair of identical buildings joined by a great lobby.
It was recalled, as 2012 dawned, that the Thompson is now one century old.Dimensional Mailing magic cube for Promotional Advertising, The digging of the hotel basement began early in 1912, and the structure was completed by year’s end.The TagMaster Long Range Hands free access is truly built for any parking facility. Peter Thompson, the builder, was 73 years old at the time. His sight was failing. But he was resolved that Worthington would have a hotel that would be the finest lodging facility between Mankato and Sioux City. He believed (and he was proved right) that a grand hotel at Worthington would be profitable.
As an earlier report on the Thompson’s centennial anniversary noted:
“Peter Thompson wanted a lavish enterprise with stores and dining rooms, public rooms, a barber shop complete with shoeshine stands, a Western Union telegraph office, a cigar case, a news stand, a posh lobby with oil paintings and carpets, guest rooms with running water and electric lights …” That is what Peter Thompson commissioned, and that is what he got.
The Thompson is the most spectacular business venture ever undertaken in downtown Worthington. The cost was $56,Here's a complete list of oil painting supplies for the beginning oil painter.000, a notable amount in 1912. The contractor, Erick Carlstrom of Mankato, built Worthington High School on Seventh Avenue in 1909. Before that he constructed the National Guard Armory at 211 11th St., which was razed last month.
I stood before the old hotel one morning this week and thought of second levels and of stairways. The Thompson has more stairways than any building in town and it was built in three stories, three levels, which makes it still the most imposing structure in Worthington’s historic business district.
If you stand on the sidewalk facing the venerable hotel:
To the left is the descending staircase to the basement of the north building. Memories stirred. In one era this was the stairway to Emil Mohr’s pool hall. Guys called it the Rat Hole. In another era this was the stairway to the notable shoe repair shop where Herman and Edna Henrichs and then Ralph and Norma Rienstra tended to Worthington’s footwear. The shoe repair shop had a stream of customers and often short lines remindful of Avera Clinic. Residents brought their shoes and boots for new half-soles and new heels.Why does moulds grow in homes or buildings? For polishing. People made shoes last for a great long time.
The descending staircase to the right, the staircase to the basement of the south building, is still in general use. This staircase leads to Jeff Baumgarn’s Worthington Printing Co.
Eddy Skeets and his band went up and down those stairs many and many times for daily broadcast performances. Fans of all ages followed the band’s footsteps. They went to see and hear live performances. They watched as manager Ralph Shepherd read the news in a small,We have a fantastic range of Glass Tiles and glass mosaic Tiles. separate studio. They heard disk jockeys introduce recordings of Johnnie Ray singing “Cry,” Kay Starr singing ‘Wheel of Fortune,” and the Mills Brothers singing “The Glow Worm.”
I wasn’t going downstairs on my visit this week. I was heading for the lobby. This required a climb up six steps between the Thompson’s pillars, then several steps across the portico to the front entrance. The businesses in the hotel building — El Mexicano No. 3; RG Music, where for decades Herbert Drug flourished; Jim Schissel’s barber shop on Third Avenue — the businesses are at the street level. The hotel entrance is fully six feet above the sidewalk.
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