The Hotel
Another building that grew out of the flourishing railroad industry was the Como Hotel. Originally known as the Gilman Hotel, or locally as the Como Eating House, it served locals, rail passengers, and rail line crews. The hotel originally opened in 1880 and was a central location for socializing in Como.
In the mid 1880s, the hotel was taken over by the railroad and known as the South Park Hotel or Como Pacific Hotel. It was expanded and refurbished in 1885 but met an unfortunate fate when it burned down in 1896. The Hotel was re-built in 1897, but on a much smaller and less grand scale.[1]
In his oral interview, Andy Anderson, whose grandparents, the Gibbony’s ran the Hotel, provided additional insights and anecdotes about it’s beginning as well as its functions and operations.
"Well we’ll get back to my grandparents on my mother’s side... They ran the boarding house and the restaurant there (ed. today’s Como Hotel) …I think they started in the hotel in about 1896…The boarding house was right adjacent to the depot... All the food was made from scratch. And our grandfather even peeled potatoes at 10 o’clock at night and get up at 3 o’clock in the morning and put the roast on, meat and all the trimmings. And he did most of the cooking. My grandmother didn’t do much, just took the money. But a meal in the boarding house I think was something like 35 cents. They fed three meals a day." -Andy Anderson[2]
Anderson also further discussed his grandfather who not only ran the boarding house but also inspected train cars to ensure they did not need any maintenance. His grandfather died in 1930 when Andy was very young, but his memory continues through the memories of his family.