The Hope Hotel - Hope Idaho
by Bob Gunter
Hotel
Hope was in its prime when Hope, Idaho, grew into
prominence after becoming a center of commerce and a
division point on the Northern Pacific Railroad.
The old lady sits with her back
leaning against the hill behind her. She has seen
life at it's best and at it's worst. She has been
sitting like this since the town was a bustling
center of activity with a population of 3,000 souls.
She has seen the rich and famous and has known the
poor and down trodden.
She
still manifests the same character and sense
of history but there is something different
about her. She has had a perfect face-lift.
One that has rejuvenated her but has retained
all her old beauty and charm. One of her old
friends, Teddy Roosevelt, would tell you that
she hasn't changed a bit - just spruced
herself up. The old lady, Hotel Hope, was
built by Joseph M. Jeannot in 1897 and
overlooks Lake Pend Oreille in Hope,
Idaho.
The beautiful setting of Hotel Hope has drawn many tourists over the years. The most prominent were J. P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt, Bing Crosby and Gary Cooper.
Click on
photo to enlarge
The
present building was a replacement for the wooden
hotel built by Louis Jeannot, brother to Joseph. The
frame building burned to the ground in 1886.
Hotel Hope was in its prime when Hope grew into
prominence after becoming a center of commerce and a
division point on the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Several trains a day stopped at Hope on the way from
Minnesota to Portland, Oregon.There have been four
owners over the years. Joseph Jeannot defaulted on
the mortgage in 1920 and Marie Root paid off the
loan and purchased the hotel.
You have only to walk through Hotel Hope to see how painstaking the people responsible for the reconstruction have been in seeing that none of the artifacts have been damaged. The walls are 15 inches thick and the same doorknobs are used today. In the basement one finds the site of the old tunnels that were used by guests to go down to the railway station.
Click on photo to enlarge
A couple from California were
driving through Hope in 1971 and saw a "For
Sale" sign in the old building's window. Guy
Neyman purchased it and started some
reconstruction.
Wendel and Beverly Bergman then
purchased the hotel and, with the help of Bob LaFore,
brought it to what you see today. In fact, it took
the old lady 100 years to complete
her face lift.
The beautiful setting of Hotel
Hope has drawn many tourists over the years. The
most prominent were J. P. Morgan, Teddy Roosevelt,
Bing Crosby and Gary Cooper.
You have only to walk through
Hotel Hope to see how painstaking the people
responsible for the reconstruction have been in
seeing that none of the artifacts have been damaged.
The walls are 15 inches thick and the same doorknobs
are used today. In the basement one finds the site
of the old tunnels that were used by guests to go
down to the railway station. On the first level the
saloon looks much as it did in the early 1900s. On
the second floor is room number ten. This and two
connecting rooms were the suite of rooms used by
Teddy Roosevelt when he visited the area.
All photographs have been used with permission of the
Bonner County Museum.
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