Before the fire: The McConnell Hotel

In the wake of Tuesday’s horrific blaze that gutted the historic McConnell Hotel building in Kellogg, which sparked several other fires across the uptown area, the Shoshone News-Press would like to take a look back at some of the history that surrounded the century old hotel.

Over the years, the building has housed a multitude of different businesses and venues including a luxury hotel, an attempted ski resort, a barber shop, a bar and lounge, apartments, a brokerage office, and most recently a coffee shop.

Construction began on the McConnell in 1912 and was completed in 1913 according to information obtained through the Shoshone County Assessor’s Office.

To put the time period in perspective, Shoshone County was in the midst of splitting into two counties, Shoshone to the north and Clearwater County to the south.

At one point in time it was the grandest building in the City of Kellogg, and prominent people of the area would take the train from Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, or Missoula and stop in Kellogg to inspect the mining work being done at the Bunker Hill and then stay the night at the McConnell.

The McConnell was strategically placed on the corner of Main Street and McKinley Avenue where it was less than a mile from Bunker Hill operations in Wardner and Kellogg and only two blocks from the Kellogg Train Station.

People staying at the hotel would meander down the street for some recreation time at the YMCA and then return to bath and receive a haircut at Floyd’s Barber Shop on the first floor and be ready just in time to enjoy the nightlife that emanated from the hotel’s lounge.

Former Kellogg resident Bob Bolam has very vivid memories of his mother working in the building, as well as some personal memories that he still has today.

“The left (front) side of the hotel on the first floor was Floyd's Barber Shop,” Bolam said. “My dad and I used to get our hair cut there. I still have a piece from my first haircut in my baby book. My mom worked at the registration desk, ran the switchboard and the elevator (for the hotel). It was so cool to ride the elevator with her running the controls (no floor button, a switch that raised or lowered the elevator, then she opened the gate).”

As the luxurious nature of the hotel began to wind down, the hotel’s focus changed from serving the wealthy people who came from out of town and began to cater to men earning the wealth within Kellogg.

Kellogg mayor Mac Pooler can remember the hotel running as late as the 1970’s.

“The hotel was active up through the 60’s and 70’s,” Pooler said, “and it was where many of the unmarried workers at Bunker Hill stayed while working there.”

He also said there was a beanery behind it that served cheap meals for the men.

The tragic end of the McConnell on Tuesday afternoon was not the first time this block has seen events like this.

In fact, the McKinley/Main intersection is no stranger to fires at all.

In the late 50’s, Pooler was part of an effort that quelled a fire that broke out in the building that now houses the Pizza Palace and Papa’s Barn. Then in the late 70’s, a fire destroyed Hutton’s, a department store that was operated where a law office now stands on the northeast corner of the intersection.

During the 60’ and 70’ the Hotel was purchased by a man named Eugene Wertjes, although most people called him by his nickname, Heavy.

Heavy bought the hotel with the idea of making it into a ski resort, but that didn’t work when Heavy discovered that ski bums were paying for one room and stuffing ten people in it for the night.

According to local resident Jerome Bunde, a former stock broker for Pennaluna who had an office in the building, Heavy was a savvy businessman.

“Besides just having the hotel, Heavy owned a jewelry store across the street and also a pawn shop,” Bunde said. “He also had some sort of deal worked out with the local churches where he would let them put down and out people up in a room for the night. I’m not sure how the church paid for it, but he made sure they had a room available.”

Giving up on the hotel concept, Heavy converted the rooms into studio apartments and began renting them out.

“He had some steady renters,” Bunde said. “And Heavy put a lot of work into upgrading it into the apartments so that people could live there.”

Bunde worked for Pennaluna in the McConnell office from 1977 until the office shut down in 1990.

According to several reports, Heavy operated the apartments until 1993, when his last resident passed away, and then in 1996, Heavy passed away at the age of 72.

The building stood empty for a decade following that, until Josie’s Full of Beans coffee shop opened in the mid 2000’s.

The shop stayed open for a few years, but ultimately shut down, leaving the building once again without any active tenants.

“It was quite a building,” Bunde said. “It served the people of Kellogg very well.”

The building was recently purchased and the owners are planning on speaking with the Shoshone News-Press in the coming days.