Iowa is a unique midwestern state that has developed its own culture and unique cities that are well worth visiting, but a hundred years ago, many people were visiting the Hawkeye State for a very different reason – its location on the Lincoln Highway, one of the earliest and most important long-distance highways for people traveling cross-country. That meant many small towns along the way became hubs for shopping, restaurants, and lodging as long as the travelers were passing through – but times change, and soon routes like the Lincoln Highway were surpassed by larger super-highways and then by air travel that made a cross-country trip a matter of hours. Today, some of these towns, like Belle Plaine, are still striving – but the same can’t be said for every business in them. A visit to Belle Plaine offers a unique look into the past when you visit a still-standing abandoned hotel in Iowa – the Herring Hotel.

Today, Belle Plaine is a town of 2,300 people in the larger Cedar Rapids metropolitan area, but this small Lincoln Highway town had an amazing history.
David Wilson/Wikipedia
It was founded in 1862 as part of the railroad expansion and became a local hub of industry and hospitality. This is a 1903 photo of a newly dug artesian well.
Benjamin F. Gue/Wikipedia
But eventually, the town's train station closed, becoming one of two famous abandoned buildings in the town.
Ron Reiring/Flickr

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The other one? The famous Herring Hotel, located in the heart of the town, was built in 1900 out of a hollowed-out older building that was destroyed in a fire.
Jim Roberts/Wikimedia Commons
It operated as a hotel consistently for most of the 20th centry, but as traffic declined, so did business. Other features, like a service station, were added over the years.
Herring Hotel/Google Reviews
So what happened to the hotel? Time. It's still technically a hotel, but had been closed for extensive renovations for a very long time and was deemed to be structurally unsound.
Kristine Pope/Google Reviews
While the place was previously listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the town deemed it to not be suitable for restoration and voted to demolish it in late 2023. Will a new long-lasting business rise from the ashes?
Lincoln Hotel/Facebook

Have you seen the Herring Hotel in Belle Plaine in the past? Let us know what brought you to this abandoned hotel in Iowa in the comments section, and what you would like to see become of this historic building’s site. While you’re in Belle Plaine, there are some historic businesses that are still going strong – like the Lincoln Cafe, a rustic roadside stop serving up delicious country cooking since 1928. And if you’re looking for a place to stay in the area, why not go from one of Iowa’s oldest hotels to one of its newest? The Hotel Millwright in Amana is a boutique hotel with beautiful rustic decor and some unique amenities.

Warm Up With A Cup Of Homemade Soup Or Chili At The Lincoln Cafe Here In Small Town Iowa

 

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Herring Hotel, 718 13th St, Belle Plaine, IA 52208, USA