The Coloma Hotel was
built in 1876 on land called Richardson’s Plot which was the
basis upon which the surveying of the rest of the town was done. A
livery stable was built behind the hotel to house the horses people
used for travel. The hotel’s main purpose was to serve as an
overnight stay for travelers on the railroad whose station was
right across the street.
I the ‘30’s the hotel was called the Premo Hotel and
hotel guests could find a room and a meal. Advertisements from that
era tempt guests to enjoy a chicken dinner for 50 cents. Some time
in the early 1900’s the hotel burned and was rebuilt into the
structure you see today.
In the 1950’s the lobby was converted into a soda fountain
with games so that the teenagers in town could gather before and
after school and confirmation classes. When Highway 51 was built,
the workers stayed at the hotel and the hotel’s manager,
Faye, cooked breakfast and dinner for the workers and packed their
lunches!
The hotel fell into disrepair in the 1980’s and only
occasionally served overnight guests. It became a rooming house and
many people during that era called it home. The kitchen served as
communal kitchen and the lobby and living room as common areas
where residents could visit, watch TV, or play
cards.
In the early 1990’s repairs on the old hotel began after it
was purchased by the present owners, Dennis and Susan Apps. The
porch was fixed and extended, new windows replaced the inefficient
ones, bathrooms were added to each room and a new open stairway,
fireplace, and eck were added. Balloon construction had been used
to build the hotel which meant that the walls were one line from
the base of the first floor all the way to the roof line. During
the remodeling, insulation was placed in all the walls and fire
stops added to make the building safer.
Today the hotel, once again, welcomes travelers – not from
the railroad, but from the highway. Modern conveniences such as
cable TV, wireless internet and continental breakfast have been
added, but the charm and hospitality that made the hotel well known
in the past will always be a part of the Coloma Hotel’s
history and personality.
We have permission from Dennis and Susan Apps for the placement of
the cache on hotel property