Greetings From Sioux Falls Presents: The Cataract Hotel

Once upon a time in Sioux Falls, the Cataract Hotel was the hub of all activity.

The first Cataract hotel was built at 9th and Phillips in 1871 by W. H. Corson and had 14 sleeping rooms. This was before Sioux Falls was incorporated as a city in 1890. It is difficult to find photos of this old hotel, but I've got my eyes peeled. The Cataract quickly gained a reputation as the finest hotel in the region.

The second Cataract hotel was built to the north of the original building in 1878 and was constructed of brick. Details are sketchy on how they operated from two buildings, but my guess is they had a door between the two. Call me if you ever stayed in the Cataract in the late 1870s.

The grand building on the corner is the Cataract's third building, built in 1884. The brick building to the right of it (North) was the second Cataract House. The first Cataract was moved into the street while #3 was being built according to historical markers. If this is true, then at one time there were three Cataracts in a row in Sioux Falls.

The third Cataract was designed by renowned prairie architect Wallace Dow (whom we'll cover later in a cross-linked feature that will blow your mind!).

The boom era of the late 1800s accommodated the construction of this beauty and the addition of a fourth floor 1889. As you can see, the preceding Cataract House building still stands to the north of this one. I've not been able to discover if it remained part of the hotel or if it was used for other purposes.

Sadly, this building was destroyed by fire on June 30th of 1900, prompting the city to finally put together an honest to goodness fire department.

This building, the fourth Cataract House in Sioux Falls, was built in 1901. This time architect Joseph Schwarz lent his talents to its creation. The Cataract continued its reign as a fine hotel and a hub of local activity.

The Cataract's fire and others, namely the Merchant's and Commercial House, prompted the Hotel Carpenter to be built Fireproof. While I haven't seen it in writing, I feel certain that the Corsons had this one built fireproof as well.

Here we see the grand dining room of the Cataract. The picture was surely taken during a between-meal time, otherwise you'd see the flurry of activity as the Cataract's wickedly-skilled staff attended to the overabundance of diners... Or maybe this is dinner rush and everyone's rushed to the buffet to load up on fresh shrimp!

Here we can see some rare, crappy images of the interior of the Cataract house. Thinking of grand, old classic hotels always makes me think of Stephen King's The Shining. All those lives in all those rooms. If those walls could talk... or scream. If you're into audio books, check out Campbell Scott's reading of The Shining. You won't be sorry... Unless you don't like that kind of thing.

In 1886, Sioux Falls established a house numbering system using 9th and Phillips ground zero. Thus was the power of the Cataract House to reach through the mists of time and screw up the lives of many a modern-day pizza delivery driver (the 900 block of Phillips avenue is between 17th and 18th street, rather than between 9th and 10th). A more reasonable city might have made the corner of 1st Street and 1st Avenue the nexus for the numbering system, but they hadn't had as much fun at that spot (where Falls Park is now).

On April 6th of 1903, Theodore Roosevelt visited our fair city on a 9-week tour of the country. In the left-foreground you can see a guy who's shimmied his way up a bunting-wrapped pole to catch a glimpse of TR as he spoke.

Click on the image to see the grand Phillips street entrance a bit closer. Five extra points for finding Waldo!

This is a good angle of the city as it looked in the early 1900s. Special thanks to the eBayer who put up a full-res image of this rare postcard! Click on it to get yours! Makes a nifty desktop pattern. I don't think you'll find a finer image of the vintage bulb sign. I suppose the sign lies in one of the lower strata of our landfill.

As far as when the sign disappeared: It's hard to tell. There was a golden era of postcards in the early 1900s where there were tons of cards of the Cataract, then nothing until the 1960s. I guess it disappeared between 1925 and 1960. That narrows it down some.

And now for the ugly era. Many buildings in downtown Sioux Falls were given "facelifts" to make them more modern... or as they called it then: Mod. In all fairness, this image doesn't really do the facade any justice. What looks like a concrete brick is actually shiny granite. Whatever it is, it's not pretty. I don't know if we can blame this on the Sheraton corporation, who at this point owned the hotel, but why not?

The Schlocky marquee above the main entrance announces a seafood buffet every friday night. That was not enough to keep business hopping in the downtown business district. Soon the entire block was razed to make way for...

The future... and parking. The early 1970s brought urban renewal just a few short years before This Old House made it cool to renovate. In 1973 the Cataract was razed. Between 1969 and 1974, the entire block was erased to make way for a bank and parking.

Look at that cold edifice. Doesn't it just shout "Get back to work, you"? Can't you just hear the roar of 200 IBM Selectrics dutifully chattering away? I can imagine trudging into work here every day, weighed down by my ultra-wide brown polyester tie. It looks nicer inside, but the exterior architecture just says "move along, there's nothing to see here".

In 1975 Sioux Falls pried its head from where the sun don't shine and put together its historical preservation organization. If the demise of the Cataract had something to do with this, then there was some good that came from destroying it.

Since before Sioux Falls was a city there had been a Cataract Hotel. It was the social focal point of the city for decades. How could this city allow it to be discarded so callously? It was a time in which the Argus Leader suggested that the demolition of the Old Courthouse (Sept 11, 1962) might be a fine way to generate some parking space. Thankfully that kind of thinking has mostly fallen to the wayside. Alas too late for the Cataract.

Click on the link for ordering info or go right to the Center for Western Studies on the

The Cataract Hotel

101 North Phillips Ave.