For many years the citizens of Waterloo had wanted a modern hotel but lacked sufficient funds to realize their dream. In 1912, citizens of West Waterloo asked Mr. and Mrs. Lamson to undertake a hotel project. Clyde proposed the construction of a modern, rather luxurious hotel that would enhance the image of Waterloo. To assure sufficient funding, Lamson sold $85,000 in lots in the Keywood and Hayes districts to the citizens of Waterloo with the promise that the money would be used to underwrite the building of a hotel.
The site for the new hotel at the corner of West 5th and Commercial Streets was in an area where the Sac and Fox Indians had once had their tribal dances and Waterloo’s first circus had been held. It was also the location of the American House, an inn constructed in 1860 and one of the oldest buildings in the Waterloo business district.
The new structure, to be named the Russell-Lamson Hotel, was originally to be a seven-story, fireproof building. It was expected to cost $300,000 and to be completed by 1 January 1914. The land cost $100,000, making the total cost between $400,000 and one-half million dollars. The Lamsons wanted the hotel to be ready for customers by 1 April 1914. Lamson contracted with the Dunphy-Fredstein Company of Milwaukee to build the hotel. The new Waterloo hotel was to be one of the finest architectural structures designed by Marshall & Fox of Chicago, the firm that had also designed the Gladstone in the "Windy City."
| The Russell-Lamson Hotel was designed to be 140x140 square feet. There were to be 200 chambers and 146 baths. All the floors were to be covered with mosaic tiles. The structure ultimately contained 250 rooms and 150 bathrooms. Daily room rates ranged from $1 to $2.50 without a bathroom and $1.50 to $3 with a bathroom. Lamson wanted two passenger elevators, one service elevator, and one hand elevator in the kitchen. The main lobby was designed to be 60x100 square feet. Cut stone was also placed in the main lobby and was as high as the third floor. They wanted a Circassian walnut finish with white and gold trim. A fireplace was placed at the west end of the lobby. The basement floor was waterproofed due to the hotel’s closeness to the Cedar River and the lobby floor had black and white tiles that amazed everyone who saw them. |  |
The main dining room was on the second floor and measured 55x65 square feet. The interior was to have a rose and white finish. A 38x60 square foot oak English grill room, with oak beams across the ceiling and oak paneling with red tiles on the floor, was also planned. They also put a large fireplace in one of the corners of the dining room.
Tangney & McGinn Hotel Company managed the new hotel. They also operated several other hotels in Iowa, including the Sheldon-Munn in Ames. The Russell-Lamson contained stores like Morgan and Sullivan, Easley’s, Ludwig’s, Yetters and Waters, and the Paul Davis Department Store, the original of which had burned down in 1914. All the shops were built to face West 5th Street. On the seventh floor of the hotel United States mail accommodations were available for all patrons.
