Martin Hotel (Sioux City, Iowa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Martin Hotel
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_from_SE.jpg)
View from the southeast, across 4th Street
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 Location in Iowa
Location in the United States
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| Location | 410 Pierce St. Sioux City, Iowa |
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| Built | 1912 |
| Architectural style | Chicago |
| NRHP reference No. | 83000414 |
| Added to NRHP | January 27, 1983 |
The Martin Hotel is a historic building in Sioux City, Iowa. It was built in 1912. This hotel is special because of its unique "Chicago style" design. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The National Register lists important places in American history. For many years, it was called the Sheraton-Martin Hotel. Today, it is known as the Martin Tower Apartments.
Building the Martin Hotel
The Martin Hotel was built in 1912. It was placed at the corner of the Fourth Street Historic District and Pierce Street. This area is in downtown Sioux City. People were excited about the upcoming Interstate Fair. The hotel was built to welcome visitors.
The hotel had many cool features. These included a large ballroom and a restaurant. There was also a cafeteria and a cigar stand.
The hotel's boiler room was very big. It was written about in a newspaper in 1911. The paper said the room would be "30 feet wide, 55 feet long, and 22 feet deep." This made it one of the largest heating rooms in the United States.
Eugene C. Eppley owned the Martin Hotel for many years. He owned it from 1915 to 1956. In 1956, the Sheraton Corporation bought the hotel. They renamed it the Sheraton-Martin Hotel.
Restoring the Hotel
In the 1980s, the hotel changed its purpose. It became an apartment building. It was then called the Tower Hill Apartments.
In 2001, a developer named Lew Weinberg started a new project. He worked with the same team who restored the Orpheum Theatre. They got permission from the Sioux City council. Their goal was to restore the hotel's old ballroom.
The ballroom was once used by important people. These included politicians and other guests. The restoration project finished in 2004. The room was partly restored with some new changes. The stage, pillars, and carpet were brought back to life. New features were added too. These included a kitchen and easy access for people with a disability. The room's temperature could also be controlled.
The Corn Room Mural
Eugene C. Eppley, the hotel's former owner, loved art. He was a businessman from Omaha, Nebraska. He asked for four special paintings, called murals, for his hotels. One of these murals was for the Martin Hotel.
This mural was called The Corn Room. It was painted in 1927 by a famous artist named Grant Wood. Wood's art style was called Regionalism. This was a unique art movement. It was the only modern art style that started in the Midwestern United States.
For many years, the painting was hidden. It was covered by layers of paint and wallpaper. But in 1979, it was found again!
The owner of the hotel, Tower Properties, Ltd, wanted to give The Corn Room to the Sioux City Art Center. But in 1989, a court canceled this gift. The court ordered the mural to be sold. An attorney from Sioux City, Alan Fredregill, bought the painting. He then decided to donate it to the Art Center himself.
The mural was first shown to everyone in 1992. It was shown again in 2007 at an exhibition in Sioux City. Now, The Corn Room is a permanent exhibit at the Art Center. You can see it there all the time.
