Van Gilder Hotel, historic building in Seward, Alaska, United States
The Van Gilder Hotel is a historic wooden hotel in Seward, Alaska, built with two main floors and a basement. It contains 23 rooms decorated in Victorian style, ranging from small rooms with shared bathrooms to larger suites with two queen beds, all maintaining the period atmosphere throughout.
Built in 1916 by E.L. Van Gilder, the hotel initially served as an office and meeting hall before being converted to apartments and then a hotel in the following decades. Known as Hotel Renwald in the 1950s, it underwent renovation in 1978 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The building carries the name of its founder E.L. Van Gilder from Idaho, who constructed it in 1916. It started as a gathering place for community meetings and offices before becoming lodging, a purpose it continues today and remains central to the town's visitor experience.
Located in downtown Seward two blocks from the Alaska SeaLife Center, the hotel makes walking to nearby attractions convenient. Note that there is no elevator, so upper-floor rooms require climbing stairs, and the entire building is non-smoking with complimentary parking available.
The hotel received a visit from President Warren G. Harding in 1923, one of the earliest US presidents to visit Alaska, underscoring its importance to travelers of that era. A year later, Seward became a landing point for pilots of the first flight around the world, an event that let many residents see airplanes for the first time.
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