Browse Items (22 total)
Sort by:
Know Your Scenes:
From this angle, a familiar building in Council Bluffs takes on the appearance of a vehicle from outer space. Give up?
Answer: The trim on the marquee of Hotel Chieftain.
Answer: The trim on the marquee of Hotel Chieftain.
Know Your Scenes:
This delicate sample of scroll work in concrete has been decorating the top of a popular downtown doorway in Council Bluffs since the mid-1920s. Where is it?
Answer: Above the south entrance to Hotel Chieftain. Beyond the latticed window is the…
Answer: Above the south entrance to Hotel Chieftain. Beyond the latticed window is the…
This Is Council Bluffs
You are gazing at the heart of Council Bluffs in this aerial photo. The camera, pointing slightly northeast, captures dozens of well known landmarks. Bayliss Square, with its X-shaped walks, dominates the lower portion of the picture. Broadway,…
Council Bluffs Aerial Views
Aerial photo of downtown Council Bluffs, looking northeast,. West Broadway runs diagonally from upper left to lower right. Landmarks pictured include: Bayliss Park, the old Post Office, Hotel Chieftain, Bennett Building, the old Washington…
Chieftain To Be Transformed Into Private Elks Club
Old Stonework . . . that was once part of the Hotel Chieftain but has been covered by paneling and decoration for many years, was uncovered this week by Andersen Construction workmen who are remodeling it into the Elks Club. Contractor Herb Andersen…
Sign Comes Down
The old sign designating the former Hotel Chieftain has been taken down, making way for the new Bluffs Towers in the renovated building. The 60-foot sign was taken down Tuesday. Riding a wooden box on an 85-foot dragline boom, iron workers Don and…
Big Boom
A 130-foot-high boom was needed Thursday morning to lift new elevator machinery to the roof of the Hotel Chieftain, which is being remodeled into apartments for the elderly. The big move required the closing of most of Pearl Street between Broadway…
Hotel Chieftain Is Remodeled
Former Lobby And Hotel Desk . . . resemble a disaster area, with stacks of hotel furniture being moved out by the former owner. The desk now serves as a control center for the contractor, Audino Construction Co. of Sioux City. The conversion is being…
Hotel Chieftain Is Remodeled
The former Hotel Chieftain, a landmark in Council Bluffs for more than 40 years, is being converted to a downtown residence for the elderly. In the meantime, the plaster, concrete and other debris comes tumbling down the oversize drainpipe attached…
Latest Delay In Remodeling Of Hotel Is 'Hot' Water
Water Fills Basement . . . in the Hotel Chieftain and the presence of electrical wires near the water may cause another delay in the building's remodeling.
What Will Happen To Murals?
In The Corn Room . . . of Hotel Chieftain the Iowa cornfield scene, also done by Grant Wood, covers four walls and is familiar to most residents of Council Bluffs. Corn shocks decorate wall behind Helen Burns, dial chief operator for the Northwestern…
What Will Happen To Murals?
Now That The Hotel Is To Be Sold . . . further effort on part of Sam Brown, president of Bluffs Homes Inc., purchasers of the hotel, will be made to place the paintings in responsible hands such as a museum. "We have had several requests for the…
What Will Happen To Murals?
Paintings by artist Grant Wood on the mezzanine floor of Hotel Chieftain have been offered to any organization that will remove and preserve them. Hotel owner Harry A. Wise Jr. is shown here with one mural titled "Entrance To Kanesville" done in 1927…
Plan Conversion Of Chieftain Into Retirement Home
Hotel Chieftain . . . would be purchased by a non-profit local corporation and renovated to provide 70 apartments for the low-income elderly.
Chieftain To Reopen Coffee Ship As Its Java Room
Furnished with indirectly-lighted leather booths and composition-top tables, the coffee shop at Hotel Chieftain will be opened Tuesday as the Java room. The cashier's booth is illuminated by fluorescent tubing.
Today
Today...there is a trimmer, cleaner look in contrast to the 53-year-old photo. A new building houses the Council Bluffs Savings Bank, and at right is the new State Savings Bank. Other new buildings behind them were rebuilt after the Grand Hotel…
Today
Today...the scene looking west on First Avenue, from Main Street, shows many changes. The "horsepower" is now confined to automobiles and trucks. Hotel Chieftain has replaced the old Grand Hotel, which burned more than 39 years ago. Some buildings…
Today
Today...the Hotel Chieftain, which replaced the Gran Hotel at First Ave. and Pearl St., is observing its 30th anniversary. The Chieftain is typical of building changes over the period of years, giving a modern look to the city.