If you have a memory of the Oaks Hotel,
please click here
to be posted immediately.
Thanks to
Bob Moninger for this picture.
The Oaks Hotel, built in 1893, was one of Clear Lake's most renowned summer hotels until its destruction by fire July 20, 1922. It was one of the interests of the Western Lakes Resort Company and stood where Allen's Hilltop Motel is today. Four stories high, the Oaks held 40 rooms.
On the ground floor was a spacious dining room, one of the most fashionable spots in Clear Lake where music and good food went hand in hand. The large verandas on three sides of the building were one of the nicest features of the hotel.
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A stay at the popular hotel cost $2 to $3.50 per day or $12- $18 per week.
The Oaks Hotel as it looked about 1905.
Swimmers and onlookers were enjoying a 1909
summer's day in front of the Oak's Hotel.
The Oaks Hotel burned down
20 July, 1922
The Allen Motel was built where the historic Oaks Hotel once stood near the Campgrounds area. This postcard shows how the motel looked in 1951.
The Allen's Hilltop Motel now occupies the site.
The Oaks Hotel built in 1893, featured 40 rooms, a spacious dining hall and large verandas on three sides of the hotel to allow guests to enjoy a lake view and cool breezes. The Oaks was one of the most renowned summer hotels until it's destruction by fire in July 1922.
The Hilltop Motel now occupies the site.
The Standard station was located in the circle in the foreground.
I used to work there.
So did Louie Crist.
Bob Moninger
View of Clear Lake, looking from the verenda of Oaks Hotel, Clear Lake Iowa
Future site of Witkes and the Surf
Thanks to Bob Moninger for this picture!
Thanks to Lyndon Crist and Bob Moninger
for these pictures.
