Planning underway for Monterey Hotel
Podcast Episode
Kyle Geissler talks with Janesville Gazette reporter Ryan Dostalek about the work being done on the Monterey Hotel in downtown Janesville.
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Representatives from Isthmus Architecture out of Madison survey the exterior of the Monterey Hotel for redevelopment.
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Britten Grafft of Isthmus Architecture surveys the exterior condition of the Monterey Hotel in hopes to create storefronts and apartments.
JANESVILLE — When drivers crest the East Milwaukee Street hill heading into downtown Janesville, the historic Monterey Hotel comes into full view.
Despite the antennae atop the six-story, Art Deco monument, the historic nature of the hotel is obvious.
Since 1996, Janesville resident Jim Grafft has owned the hotel with hope of restoring the building to its original form.
Grafft, his daughter Britten and contractors from throughout southern Wisconsin are prepping the 88-year-old building for revitalization, Britten said.
"I've always wanted to be a part of the restoration of this hotel," she said. "Now the time is finally right to move forward."
And they're looking for help from Janesville residents to accurately restore the building.
The father and daughter, along with Isthmus Architecture of Madison and a handful of local contractors and architects, plan to bring the exterior of the building to its original "integrity," Britten said.
For the interior, they hope long-time Janesville residents can help by sharing memories or photographs of the hotel.
Britten, a senior architecture student at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., has spearheaded the newly energized revitalization plans for the hotel.
"Janesville residents have backed this hotel since the beginning," she said.
Residents in 1929 were asked to name the hotel through a Janesville Daily Gazette poll. And they helped fund the construction by purchasing bonds during the Great Depression.
After the hotel opened in 1930, it hosted some familiar names, such as Louis Armstrong, Eleanor Roosevelt and even Sen. John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie.
Britten said her father has spent 12 years working on and off to get the hotel ready for an overhaul.
Rather than resume operation as a hotel, Britten said, the plan is to change the building into a mixed residential and commercial space. They hope a restaurant would occupy much of the first level and apartments ranging from one bedroom to possibly four bedrooms would fill the floors above.
Plans won't be finalized until all the architectural assessments are complete.
Britten finished exterior site surveys Thursday, but she said there's not yet a timeline for construction. She anticipates interior work could start as early as this winter and exterior renovation might begin next summer.
"We're definitely headed in the right direction, finally," she said. "This is a really important, key step for downtown Janesville to succeed."
MONTEREY HISTORY
1929: "Monterey" is the winning name in a contest sponsored by The Janesville Daily Gazette for the city's newest hotel, a six-story Art Deco structure built on the site of the old Grand Hotel.
1930: The Monterey Hotel welcomes its first guests at a grand banquet.
1936: The company that issued bonds for the hotel declares bankruptcy. A group of residents becomes the new owner.
Mid-1950s: The Monterey is remodeled and a new entrance cut on High Street. Art Deco details and marble are ripped out. Architectural molding is plastered over, and terrazzo floors are carpeted.
1960: Sen. John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, spend a few hours at the Monterey Hotel during a campaign stop in Janesville. Eleanor Roosevelt, Henry Luce and Louis Armstrong also reportedly had been guests.
1962: A partnership of three Janesville businessmen—Gene Obligato, Earl Fugate and Jim Cullen—buys the Monterey.
1960s and '70s: The Monterey is sold twice more. Under the first owner, the hotel gets a seedy reputation as a home to drifters and drunks, according to Gazette files. The second owner tries to clean up the hotel.
1977: Archie Johnson buys the hotel. His son Richard runs it as a residential hotel with maid service.
1983: A fire kills one tenant.
1989: Johnson sells the Monterey and the Orleans Restaurant to American Realty Constructors of San Francisco.
1990s: A group of California doctors buys the hotel. Plans are to use it for senior housing, but the building winds up in federal bankruptcy court.
1996: Jim Grafft buys the Monterey at a bankruptcy auction.
2008: Jim and Britten Grafft begin interior and exterior surveys, preparing the building for an overhaul that would restore it to its original form. Interior construction could start as early as winter 2008 and exterior work as soon as summer 2009.
TO HELP
Residents who have photos or memories of the Monterey Hotel can share them with Jim and Britten Grafft to help with a more accurate restoration of the building. Photos and memories can be e-mailed to Britten Grafft at montereyhistory@gmail.com or by mail to Britten Grafft, 3723 N. Edgewood Dr., Janesville, WI 53545.
Aug 13, 2008 at 1:14 p.m.
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Thanks Hannah! The website with postcards is great...makes you want to search Janesville for all the locations depicted. The Monterey sure was beautiful.
Aug 9, 2008 at 1:33 p.m.
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interesting!!!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save...
Aug 9, 2008 at 1:21 p.m.
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http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM2E2...
Aug 9, 2008 at 1:19 p.m.
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http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wircgs...
couple of cool postcards here. i know there is a photo out there of somebody famous eating dinner in a booth and you can see a sconce on the wall. i cannot remember where i saw it. maybe jefris museum???
Aug 9, 2008 at 1:12 p.m.
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i am not sure why Fusion 5 closed it was always busy any time we went. Chef Oscar can be found at cafe Belwauh(sp) in the Beloit hotel though.
Aug 8, 2008 at 11:43 p.m.
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The Orleans was a cool place when I was a kid - Janesville needs some nice, local restaurants, enough of the chain places! Too bad people didn't support Fusion 5 more - one of the best chefs. Anyone remember the King's PUB? Or the DownUnder? Character. That is what Jvl USED to have - bring it back!
Aug 8, 2008 at 6:50 p.m.
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oldtimer, it was never renovated into apartments. It was a long-term "residence hotel" which translates into "cheap-ass apartment" and yes, aside from the few people who were temporarily there between apartments, it was full of transients and problem people such as drunks. It wasn't that they couldn't afford monthly rent, it was (almost certainly) that they were people who could not get or keep leases. The Grafft renovation plan, which I support, will make real apartments out of the former hotel rooms, probably combining as many as five rooms into a single apartment. It will be the equivalent of any multi-unit apartment building and won't be attractive to the problem people who were there in the 70s and 80s.
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Unfortunately, I don't think Janesville has enough business for a real hotel, at least not a downtown hotel with no parking. The Monterey was a classic railroad hotel, and it died with the end of passenger service.
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I'm very happy the other guy's proposal, which included demolishing most of the other historic structures nearby but keeping the ugliest building downtown (the furniture store) as a convention center, did not go through. Grafft and his daughter seem to have the right approach for a model restoration and rehab with adaptive reuse.
Aug 8, 2008 at 4:10 p.m.
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This is a valuable piece of Janesville's history - I'm glad to hear that it will finally be transformed from eyesore to eye candy! I remember it and the restaurant from the '50s ... and the movie theatre next door.
Aug 8, 2008 at 3:44 p.m.
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Janesville is short of rooms when any large gathering takes place after Ramada was torn down. I do believe guest would love to stay in a hotel that was decorated in era of yesterday. Also the Armory brings guest to Janesville and would make a lasting impression on them to be able to stay in a Hotel instead of a Motel. Yes the top floors could be pent houses like those in larger cities. Maybe I am dreaming all this but with a nice dinner restaurant again and lovely rooms a lot of locals would love to spend there anniversary there also. I bet new bride and grooms would love to stay rather then leaving the area. This building has so many potentials.
Aug 8, 2008 at 3:25 p.m.
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Purrmaid
I think I have a bunch of pics from the inside. I will check this weekend...
Aug 8, 2008 at 3:20 p.m.
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Speaking of drifters and drunks my father lived here in the 70's. That hotel scrard the crap out of me as a child!!! But the Orleans Restaurant was the best!!
Aug 8, 2008 at 1:58 p.m.
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I’m happy to see that they are revitalizing this building. When I moved here fourteen years ago I noticed this building downtown and wondered about its history. Additionally, I also admired its architectural elements. The hotel would be a great location for a restaurant. In addition, the upper levels would make great studio style office space or apartments. The completed renovation of the Monterey Hotel would be one more step towards revitalizing the entire downtown area.
Aug 8, 2008 at 12:27 p.m.
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Yes, I agree! Bring it back with digity and pride! Wish I could volunteer to help! I would! How historic!
Aug 8, 2008 at 10:42 a.m.
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We would go to the Orleans restaurant once in a while and I remember great, great food with homemade rolls and great prime rib. It would be great if the hotel was properly restored. I have high hopes for the area and really enjoy The Armory.
Aug 8, 2008 at 10:32 a.m.
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in hope they share the photos on the gazette. it would be great to have a restauant in there again!!!
Aug 8, 2008 at 10:26 a.m.
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"Photos and memories can be e-mailed to Britten Grafft at montereyhistory@gmail.com or by mail to Britten Grafft, 3723 N. Edgewood Dr., Janesville, WI 53545."
Great idea...you never know what pics people have kept through the years. Can't wait to see all the cool details brought back to the Monterey. (And drat those "restorations" back in the '50s!)
Aug 8, 2008 at 9:53 a.m.
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I would love to see a building brought back to life with such stunning archectectual features and this old hotel. We need more of this rather than the new plain hotels they are building. It would be nice to lose the seedy reputation also.
Aug 8, 2008 at 9:44 a.m.
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They tried apts before and it didnt work out, I would think turning back into a hotel would be better. More tourist and people visting the armoury. I can remember when they put a xmas tree on the top and you could see it all the way down Milw st. Look what the Dury hotels do, they buy old historic buildings, banks etc and remake them into beautiful rooms, I have stayed at several and they are nice, beautifull lobbys.
Aug 8, 2008 at 9:34 a.m.
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Cool! I hope the restoration goes well. It could be a gem in a revitalized downtown.
Aug 8, 2008 at 9:18 a.m.
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First things first..put an American flag on the flag pole to show some life coming back to the building, I think this is great and look foward to seeing the building come back to life...
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