The Palace Hotel was chosen as the Brick Structure of the Month for April 2010. I don't have much historical information on the Palace Hotel, but I have been through the Crookston area numerous times and have passed this building on almost all of them. How can a person not notice this place, it was built right on the main stretch through downtown Crookston. The city of Crookston itself is rich in history and many of the original buildings constructed around the turn of the century are still standing today.
Crookston is set up along the winding Red Lake River. This river is very much like the Red River of the North, twisting and turning almost on top of itself. Trees line the banks of the river and there are also oxbows that have developed. However, the Red Lake River is also prone to flooding. As the original downtown area of Crookston was surrounded on three sides by this river, it was really built in a tough spot. In the old days, the river provided water, power, recreation, food, sewer facilities, and transportation. In the middle of a flat prairie, it was essential to settlement.
The early days of Crookston were really tied to the railroads. The railroads sought to connect the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area with the blossoming city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. So the earliest railroad to build through the northern Red River Valley, the St. Paul and Pacific Railway, was built right through Crookston in 1872. James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railroad later took over the St. Paul and Pacific and expanded its reaches all the way to the west coast. So Crookston and James J. Hill had strong ties. James J. Hill later donated the land on which the University of Minnesota, Crookston campus was built on.
Getting back to the Palace Hotel, it may not survive much longer. The last owner of the hotel failed to pay the taxes due on the building, so it has been forfeited back to Polk County. There have not been any buyers, so the city is looking at tearing the building down. I guess over the course of time, the roof developed leaks and the inside has suffered. As is the case with many of the old brick buildings, the brick itself stays in great shape but the other components tend to fail. The mortar tends to disintegrate and wooden roofs will rot if they are not taken care of.
This is really too bad as it is a beautiful old brick building. I cannot say for sure if it was built of brick from the Crookston brick yard, but mostly likely it was.
As I walked by the building, a strong scent of mold lingered in the air. I also noticed that someone wrote a chalk message on the door...
For those Minnesota brick building lovers out there, I highly recommend the Crookston, MN, area. The downtown is full of old buildings and signs of the past. There are nice antique stores, restaurants, and other stores all within a few blocks of each other. Here are some samples of old advertisements that I found on the sides of several old buildings.
Source:
Crookston's Seventy-Five Years
Published by the Crookston Diamond Jubilee Committee to Commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Incorporation of Crookston, Minnesota, 1874-1954, Page 32
