Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
ST. GEORGE HOTEL
ST. GEORGE HOTEL. Originally the site of the BADEN HOUSE, this hotel and saloon was operated by George SCHAFFHAUSER after the building was constructed in 1886. (1)
Working men in the downtown area got in the habit of taking their noon meal at the hotel. Operated then by William and George Schaffhauser, Jr., dinner tickets were offered at the price of six meals for one dollar. If a person happened to be staying at the hotel on Thanksgiving Day, dinner cost 12 1/2 cents. A guest of the hotel received three meals and a room for fifty cents a day. A 28-ounce glass of beer was five cents or six for twenty-five cents. (2)
Annually the hotel hosted a picnic for its guests and boarders with transportation provided by a chartered train. The event, always held on a Sunday, was entirely paid for by the hotel. (3)
George, Jr. and William operated the hotel until 1910 when it was rented out for eight years. Between 1919 and 1939 William ran it alone until Mr. and Mrs. James Donahue became the operators. Mrs. Donahue was the granddaughter of George Schaffhauser, Sr. In 1947 the hotel was sold to Jules D. Jenkins and Frank J. Fitzpatrick who planned extensive remodeling. (4) The tradition of service to others was maintained as the hotel was one of 234 Dubuque firms honored in 1948 for subscribing or over-subscribing their quotas to the Dubuque Community Chest campaign. (5) The building later became the home of Becwar Tile & Marble after 1957.
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Source:
1. Hellert, Susan. "Old Buildings," Telegraph Herald, August 16, 2005, p. 1
2. Key, Harley P. "Turkey Feasts Cheap in 1902," Telegraph Herald, November 24, 1946, p 16
3. Freeman, Don. "Old Hotel Sold," Telegraph Herald, June 29, 1947, p. 8
4. Ibid.
5. "234 Firms Top Quota, Receive Chest Award," Telegraph-Herald, October 17, 1948, p. 30