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The Grand Rapids Hotel was a hotel that existed outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois in Wabash County in the 1920's. The hotel was located on the Wabash River next to the Grand Rapids Dam. Frederick Hinde Zimmerman built the hotel and it is rumored that it was based on the Del Cornando hotel in San Diego. It was the first major hotel in the region and had a 9 hole golf course and a baseball diamond on the grounds. During the hotel's operation it was managed by Mr. O.L. Rapson and Mr. Glenn Goodart. Manager Rapson managed the hotel from from 1921 until 1924, and Manager Goodart managed the hotel from 1924-1929. Many of the leading social organizations of the time had meetings or other social events at the hotel's restuarant and grounds. In 1929 the hotel burned under mysterious circumstances due to a blowtorch incident involving Manager Goodart. [1]
Currently, the hotel and dam concrete remains are still existing and visible. The front steps of the hotel can be viewed from the river road outside of Mount Carmel, Illinois. In 2011, John Matthew Nolan published a detailed history of the Grand Rapids Hotel.
- ^ Nolan, John Matthew "2,543 Days: A history of the Hotel at the Grand Rapids Dam on the Wabash River"