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Sheldon-Munn Hotel
Postcard published after 1916, mailed in 1918

This postcard looks northwest towards the new hotel shortly after its 1916 dedication.  Parley Sheldon, banker and perennial mayor of Ames, H. L. and A. H. Munn, lumberyard owners, contracted for the hotel's construction in June of 1915 at the corner of Main Street and Kellogg.  This had been the site of the Lynn Morris Livery Barn.  The four story hotel featured a ballroom on the fourth floor and a large dining room stretching the entire length of the first floor.  The hotel immediately became a social center for both the town and the college.  The structure with pillars on the right is the 1912 Post Office, replaced in 1935 by the present facility one block north.  Several billboards are seen to the left of the hotel.

This architect's perspective of Parley Sheldon's new bank was retrieved in 1996 from the time capsule buried during the 1915 construction of the Ames Municipal Building (now Youth and Shelter Services).  The bank was on the corner ground floor of the new Sheldon-Munn Hotel which was under construction at that time.  The design was by Proudfoot and Bird of Des Moines. - more about the Sheldon-Munn Hotel -

This is a portion of a panoramic photograph of the two block long parade on Main street held on May 20, 1919 to welcome returning World War I servicemen. Sam Ding's laundry and several billboards are seen in the center of the photo.  To the left, behind the hotel, portions of the old 1912 Post Office and the Armory are visible.

This 1957 view of Main Street looks west from the Kellogg corner. The Sheldon-Munn Hotel with first floor shops is still the center of an active Main Street.  The original marquee has since been removed.