Florence Hotel (Missoula, Montana)

The Florence Hotel is a seven-story Moderne-style building in Downtown Missoula, Montana, which was completed in 1941. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. Standing at 7 floors it is the 5th tallest building in Missoula. It is located at 111 North Higgins Avenue. Since its original construction in 1888, The Florence Hotel offered weary railway travelers and settlers a comfortable night's lodging. When it burned in 1913, The Florence was rebuilt as a major 106-room hostelry and was a longtime regional gathering place until it, too, was destroyed by fire in 1936. Missoula's lack of a major hotel had serious implications, and even though the nation was then in the midst of the Great Depression, Walter H. McLeod and other influential businessmen secured community support to rebuild. Constructed in 1941 on the same site as the two earlier buildings, today's Florence was brought to life by Spokane, Washington architect G.A. Pehrson who masterfully designed the $600,000 “jewel of a hotel” in its current Art Moderne style. For the next three decades the Florence continued to welcome visitors to downtown Missoula and Big Sky Country. In fact, “Howdy” met Hollywood when John Wayne famously slumbered at The Florence—adding to the romantic notion of the Wild West mingling with the opulent splendor of the hotel's signature style. The Florence was ahead of its t

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