The Ryan Hotel in St. Paul in was the finest luxury hotel Minnesota had to offer in the late 19th century. Designed by architect James J. Egan, construction of the hotel was funded by a millionaire gold and silver miner named Dennis Ryan. Rising from the Northeast corner of 6th and Robert, this Gothic creation of red St. Louis brick and white sandstone became a St. Paul land mark for 75 years. Terra cotta ornament, granite columns, arched windows, and bracketed balconies decorated the front facade for 150 feet on Robert Street and 225 feet on 6th.
The Ryan was the first building in St. Paul to rise above six floors. The building was 107 feet high from curb to coping or top of the mansard, exclusive of towers. There were three towers. The Robert Street tower was thirty-six feet high, the Sixth Street tower climbed thirty four feet above the roof. This imposing tower’s shafts of polished granite were surmounted and capped with fantastic brackets. A cone tower rose from the middle of the building overlooking the corner. All along the steep roof a fantasy of dormers, and spires scratched at the sky.
Down below, A carriage porch, elegantly constructed and highly ornamented extended over the sidewalk. The interior public spaces contained a bars, parlors, ladies rooms, a ballroom, and a billiards hall. The rest of the hotel held 335 sleeping apartments from one to six rooms. 300 had at least one fireplace and 100 had private baths. The building was lit with electric light and 3 elevators moved guests, baggage and provisions up and down all seven floors.
Grand opening ceremonies took place on July 2, 1885. The Ryan had a long life and was still pretty good hotel when the building’s owner, Yale Johnson, finally decided to call it quits and close . He told the Minneapolis Tribune that the hotel had been losing money for over seven years and he couldn’t find a buyer. The building was demolished to make way for more parking in 1962. The Minnesota Mutual Insurance Company building now occupies the corner.