When the Hotel Saint Paul opened its doors in 1910, the builder of the Great Northern Railway, James J. Hill, businessman, Lucius P. Ordway, and Archbishop, John Ireland were all on hand. In 1919 after the Minnesota State Legislature ratified the 19th amendment they celebrated with a jubilee banquet in the hotel.
The following year 300 women from 45 states gathered for the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Club Convention. In 1927, after Charles Lindberg returned to St. Paul from his trans Atlantic flight a dinner is given for him at the hotel. Back when St. Paul hosted gangsters, Leon Gleckman, maintained his headquarters for business dealings in a suite at Hotel Saint Paul.
A United States Treasury Department official who infiltrated Al Capone’s syndicate in Chicago, also rented a room at the hotel to keep an eye Gleckman’s activities. In 1937, A snappy, young band leader named Lawrence Welk began playing in the hotel on Saturday nights and KSTP Radio began broadcasting live from the hotel’s Casino Ballroom.
In 1947, the World Championship Rodeo was held at the St. Paul Auditorium so Gene Autry and his horse Champion checked in. In the fabulous 50’s, jazz clarinetist Harry Blons made a name for himself at the Gopher Grill. John F. Kennedy visited the hotel before his election victory over Richard M. Nixon in 1960.
