A postcard of the Radisson Inn on Christmas Lake. Person in front of hotel looking to be gardening. Person standing in front. The Radisson was distinct from the other historic hotels: It wasn't located on Lake Minnetonka but on Christmas Lake. Built in 1906 and destroyed by fire in 1936 it was a short—lived 20th century phenomenon and it had ties to the Minneapolis hotel of the same name it "attracted celebrities from the stage and sports world and prominent figures from the Twin Cities". Also the last owner, a New York man, ran the Inn like a night club——serving liquor and introducing gambling. The Inn did have roots in the past. The first building on the site was the home of Charles J.A. Morris and early pioneer who was a civil engineer who with two other platted the town of St. Alban's complete with blocks, streets and alleys. The town never materialized even after he built a sawmill there to attract business. By mid 1880's he owned 1,000 acres on Christmas Lake and 2,000 acres on St. Alban's Bay extending as far as Carson's Bay. He built a year around house next to his summer cottage on Christmas Lake and named it Glen Morris. After their father's death, Tina and William Morris added rooms to the main building and opened it in 1906 as Glen Morris Inn. Soon they built 15 cottages to house more guests. The next owner of Glen Morris was the Radisson Hotel Company which included Mrs. Simon Kruse and her cousin Belle Beazell. After renovating and enlarging the main building they renamed it the Radisson Inn after their hotel in the city. The Inn was a popular place to go for a Saturday night dance or Sunday dinner. Businesses held their annual parties there. In 1934 the Depression forced the sale of the Inn to Lou Cohen a New Yorker who headed a corporation that ran the Inn like a night club. In May 1936 the Inn burned and all that was left of the main building were the two tall chimneys also spared were the cottages.

c1930's

Lake Minnetonka Hotels

Card, Cabinet

13.9x8.8 cm

Christmas Lake, MN

4581.00

Excelsior—Lake Minnetonka Historical Society Photograph Collection

2848.00

SP—HO3

26237294

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Excelsior—Lake Minnetonka Historical Society
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