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Minneapolis, Minnesota, circa 1905. "West Hotel." Busy both architecturally and commercially. 8x10 inch glass negative, Detroit Publishing Co. View full size.
The term "fireproof" was originally used by insurance companies simply to denote that a building was of masonry/steel frame construction, and the shell of the building could therefore not burn down. Hotel owners were quick to seize upon the term and use it in their advertising, but the practice more or less stopped after the "fireproof" Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta burned on December 7, 1946, killing 119.
Here's a picture of the hotel in 1927, looking a bit darker than it is in the above photograph. Most likely due to lighting.
[It would also be due to soot. Masonry buildings turn black after years of exposure to coal smoke. - Dave]
Might have seen that Billard sign as a call to arms to save the city from itself.
Could the young couple standing under the arched overhang be waiting for Jesse Ventura's light rail?
A 1900 tourist guide described the West as fireproof, but January 10, 1906, showed otherwise. That morning, a fire that began in the bottom of an elevator shaft spread upward, generating toxic smoke, and eventually flames that ran through the top floors. Ten died, several by leaping or falling to their deaths from those many ledges. But the structure remained intact, and within months the hotel was again hosting major national conventions.
The loss of this beauty can't be blamed on urban renewal. It was demolished in 1940, at the choice of its owner, Philadelphia Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Co.
Fred C Weinhold had himself a great spot for his Drug Store, right out on the street in front of the West Hotel and more than likely with an entrance to the shop from inside the hotel itself. He was also supported by the Coca-Cola Company, in their infinite advertising wisdom, with a sign right at the entrance to the store.
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