Otis Hotel

Otis Hotel was the later historic name of a five-story hotel building at West First Avenue and South Madison Street in downtown Spokane, Washington. The building was commissioned by Spokane civic leader and developer Joseph E. Gandy and completed in 1911. Designed by architects Arthur W. Cowley and Archibald G. Rigg, it was constructed as a single-room-occupancy hotel serving migrant workers and other transient members of Spokane's workforce during a period of rapid urban and infrastructure development in the American West. The property changed names and ownership several times. It opened as the Willard Hotel, became the Atlantic Hotel after hotelier Victor Dessert acquired it in 1921, and was subsequently known as the Milner Hotel and the Earle Hotel. The Otis Hotel name was in common use by the mid-1940s and was formally associated with the property by 1956. As Spokane's economy and housing needs changed, the building's clientele shifted from migrant laborers to elderly, disabled, and low-income residents who often occupied its inexpensive rooms for extended periods. By the late twentieth century, the property had become associated with severe urban decline in central Spokane. In the 1990s, hundreds of residents lived in its small single-room units at very low rents. Although the surrounding area had a poor reputation, the building retained its historic architectural character. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 and also became a contributing property in the West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor historic district. The building continued operating as low-income housing until 2007, when it was acquired by an investment firm, its residents were removed, and the structure remained vacant for more than a decade. Investor Curtis Rystadt purchased the property in 2017 with plans to restore and convert it into a boutique hotel. A renovation initially estimated at approximately $6 million ultimately became a reported $15 million project. The restored building reopened in 2020 as the 108-room Hotel Indigo Spokane, a property within InterContinental Hotels Group's Hotel Indigo brand. Consequently, Otis Hotel is best understood today as a historic former hotel identity and landmark building rather than an active independent hotel brand.

The Otis Hotel building was commissioned by Joseph E. Gandy, an early Spokane civic leader who arrived in the city in 1880 and became the first president of the Spokane City Council. Construction was completed in 1911 according to designs by Arthur W. Cowley and Archibald G. Rigg. The five-story, red-brick Commercial Style structure was built as a single-room-occupancy hotel, a form of inexpensive lodging that served migrant workers moving through Spokane during the region's early twentieth-century construction and development boom. The property initially operated as the Willard Hotel. In 1921, Spokane hotelier Victor Dessert acquired it and renamed it the Atlantic Hotel, reportedly in reference to his Pacific Hotel. The building later used the names Milner Hotel and Earle Hotel. The Otis Hotel designation was in common use by 1946 and became the property's established name by 1956. During the mid-century period, the nature of the building's residents changed. As the demand associated with transient construction labor declined, the inexpensive rooms increasingly housed elderly, physically challenged, and low-income tenants, many of whom stayed for long periods. By the final decades of the twentieth century, the hotel had become a prominent symbol of deterioration in downtown Spokane. In the mid-1990s, more than 400 people reportedly lived in the former SRO units, with rents as low as $140 per month. The surrounding area was widely viewed as unsafe and neglected. The building itself, however, retained much of its historic exterior form and architectural significance. Its preservation value was formally recognized when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 2, 1998. It was also identified as a contributing building in the National Register-listed West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor. The Otis Hotel continued as low-income housing until 2007. After an investment firm purchased the property, the residents were removed and the building remained vacant for over ten years. In June 2017, investor Curtis Rystadt bought the structure and proposed converting it into a boutique hotel. The rehabilitation was initially estimated at $6 million, while the completed renovation was reported at $15 million. The work converted the former residential SRO building back into hotel accommodation while preserving its historic setting and principal architectural features. The property reopened in 2020 as Hotel Indigo Spokane, with 108 rooms. It became part of InterContinental Hotels Group through the Hotel Indigo brand. The Otis Hotel name therefore belongs primarily to the building's historical identity; it no longer represents an independently operating hotel brand. Its significance combines Spokane's labor and lodging history, the evolution of low-income urban housing, historic preservation, and downtown redevelopment.

• 2020

  Reopened as Hotel Indigo Spokane

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  After renovation, the building reopened as a 108-room Hotel Indigo property operated within InterContinental Hotels Group's brand portfolio.

• 2017

  Acquired for redevelopment

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Curtis Rystadt purchased the property and announced plans to convert it into a boutique hotel.

• 2007

  Low-income housing use ends

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  After acquisition by an investment firm, the residents were removed and the vacant building entered a prolonged period without hotel operations.

• 1998

  National Register listing

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recognized as a contributing property in the West Downtown Historic Transportation Corridor.

• 1956

  Otis Hotel becomes the established name

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The property was identified as the Otis Hotel after its earlier sequence of hotel names.

• 1948

  Renamed the Earle Hotel

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The building was known as the Earle Hotel while the Otis name also remained associated with it.

• 1946

  Otis Hotel name enters common use

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The Otis Hotel name was applied to the property during the postwar period.

• 1941

  Renamed the Milner Hotel

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  The property was operating under the Milner Hotel name.

• 1921

  Renamed the Atlantic Hotel

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Hotelier Victor Dessert acquired the property and changed its name from the Willard Hotel to the Atlantic Hotel.

• 1911

  Building completed as the Willard Hotel

  [1]Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org

  Joseph E. Gandy commissioned the five-story building, designed by Arthur W. Cowley and Archibald G. Rigg, as a single-room-occupancy hotel for migrant and transient workers.

Originally positioned as affordable single-room lodging for migrant workers and transient laborers, the property later functioned as low-income extended-stay housing before being repositioned as a restored boutique hotel under the Hotel Indigo name.

• Historic hotel and SRO accommodation · 1911

  Willard Hotel / Otis Hotel single-room occupancy lodging

  The original property provided small, relatively inexpensive rooms for migrant workers and other transient residents. Over time, the same SRO format served elderly, physically challenged, and low-income tenants seeking affordable long-term accommodation. Its role was closer to low-cost urban lodging and extended-stay housing than to a modern full-service hotel.

• Boutique hotel · 2020

  Hotel Indigo Spokane

  The restored successor operation occupies the historic Otis Hotel building and reopened in 2020 with 108 rooms. It represents the property's conversion from low-income residential use into a branded boutique hotel within InterContinental Hotels Group's Hotel Indigo portfolio.

• 2017

  Conversion of the historic building into a boutique hotelStrategy

  Background

  The former SRO property had been vacant since its 2007 acquisition and had become a notable historic but deteriorated structure in downtown Spokane.

  Action taken

  Curtis Rystadt acquired the building and pursued a redevelopment plan to restore it and return it to hotel use.

  Aftermath

  The project culminated in the 2020 reopening of the building as the 108-room Hotel Indigo Spokane.

  Renovation cost. $15 million (Completed renovation reported in early 2020)

  Source

1. 1Otis Hotelen.wikipedia.org