Radisson Inn’s Rise & Fall

Matchbook cover part of the Minnetonka Minute archive

Today’s look into the past comes with a rather striking image! This matchbook cover from Excelsior’s Radisson Inn likely dates back to the 1920’s, only a short time before the hotel’s closure. Let’s take a look at what made this hotel one of Minnetonka’s most renown establishments!

Opening its doors in 1906, the Radisson Inn got started much later than most hotels in the area. The gilded era of Minnetonka was quickly waning and many hotels were beginning to permanently close. The Radisson, however, had something more unique than the others; 1,000 acres of land on Christmas Lake and 2,000 on Saint Alban’s Bay.

Yet, like many hotels of the lake’s early days, the Radisson got its start as a family home built by the Morris family. It wasn’t until 1906 that family descendants began to transition the house into a hotel which, initially, went by the name of Glen Morris Inn. By the 1920’s, the property was sold to the Radisson Hotel Company who heavily renovated the building. Once complete, the 40 room hotel was among the best equipped in the area. Rooms featured private baths, electric lighting, kitchenettes with ranges, and telephones.

All these modernizations kept the inn modern and fashionable. As the economy of the U.S. roared into the 1920’s, the inn was swept into grandeur. With regular bookings lasting all season, there was no shortage of business, glamor, or splendor.

However, by 1934, the Great Depression had gripped the nation. With slumped bookings, the hotel was sold off to a man named Lou Cohen, who ran his business in less opulent fashion. To the dismay of local residents, gambling, roulette, slot machines, and other games were the attraction to be seen. Yet, it was short lived. . . After a staff party held before the hotel’s opening in 1936, the building caught fire. It was around 4 a.m. when the fire department was notified. Unfortunately, there was almost nothing to be done about the main building. By sunrise, only the hotel’s two chimneys stood above a pile of rubble and ash. Like so many hotels before it, the Radisson was consumed by fire and left as a husk, never to be rebuilt.