What would you do with 80 acres of ground that had Ten Mile Creek flowing through it?
You would likely not do what Charles Broadwater did in 1888. He decided to build an electric trolley railway, bring in a railroad spur line, and build the Broadwater Hotel and Natatorium, a five-star hotel, plus the largest natural hot water “plunge” in the world.
The construction schedule was 12 months, and indeed it was completed in 12 months.
The original construction cost estimates were $300,000. The completed cost is estimated at $500,000. In 2024 money it would be $17,000,000.
By the first of June 1889, the “Broadwater Hotel was near completion and soon the 275 workmen at the hotel will join those at the ‘plunge bath’ to expedite that completion,” so reported the Helena Independent Record.
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The hotel, a Victorian-style structure designed by Helena architects Wallace, Thornburgh, and Appleton, was two-stories tall with several round-roofed summerhouse porches. The hotel contained 50 guest rooms, 40 private bath chambers, a billiard parlor, a ballroom, three dining rooms, a bar and two sitting parlors.
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