09/05/2023
The historic Hotel Nauvoo Inn and Restaurant, in Nauvoo, Illinois, was operated for four generations by the Kraus family. It houses eight artfully-appointed guest rooms in the style of the circa 1841 building, without sparing modern convenience. The nearly 21,000 square-foot building complex also provides dining space for 300 persons at any one time; space which can be utilized as-is or repurposed by a buyer.
After operating seasonally for over 77 years, and in keeping with longstanding tradition, the business closed for the season in November of 2025. Shortly thereafter, the Kraus family announced that they were preparing for retirement, focusing on health, and had no plans to reopen in 2026. The property is offered for sale by owner with most, if not all, equipment and supplies. There are multiple additional historic properties for sale by the same owner within one-half city block of Hotel Nauvoo, including some adjoining properties. Prices are negotiable. Please see the NAUVOO PROPERTIES 6-PAGE COLOR-CODED PRESENTATION below.
The Nauvoo Historic District is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1961, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is located on a "horseshoe bend" of the banks of the Mississippi River, and the site contains 1,100 acres of authentically restored homes and shops.
The Hotel Nauvoo main building dates from 1841 when it was erected as a residence, in part by J.J. Brendt, a Latter Day Saint, and completed by Adam Swartz, a German immigrant. It was one of the outstanding structures of the area with its spacious rooms, porch, and upper verandah, and its unique cupola, all typical of pioneer architecture.
The Swartz residence was purchased in 1885 by William C. Reimbold, who converted it to the Hotel Oriental. In addition to overnight accommodations for travelers, Reimbold offered a dining room, and part of the building was used for an antique shop containing collections of Mormon and Icarian wood, metal and stone pieces, Indian arrowheads and manuscripts of many descriptions. Mrs. Reimbold continued the operation of the hotel for a time after William's death in 1938. She then leased the property to Mr. And Mrs. L.E. Reimbold, who operated it for two years. The building then sat idle and was in total disrepair when purchased by John A. Kraus in 1946. His son, Elmer J. Kraus, oversaw the extensive restoration and the hotel was opened as Hotel Nauvoo in 1948. Though it has been modernized, it retains its original historic charm.
In 1964, Elmer J. Kraus was elected President of the Illinois Hotel and Motel Association during its annual meeting in Chicago. At the time, the AHMA represented 230 members of the industry, having 41,000 rooms.
Many notable persons have graced the Hotel Nauvoo building with their presence since it was constructed in 1841. Latter Day Saints arrived in Nauvoo in 1839, and well before Joseph Smith's death in 1844, the building was already a prominent fixture in Nauvoo. It is located directly across the street from the site of the historic Nauvoo Expositor newspaper, and it is just one block east of the newly reconstructed Nauvoo Temple.
As recently as the past 45 years or so, the Governor and First Lady of Illinois spent a night during the Nauvoo Grape Festival weekend. They stayed in an upstairs room in the northeast corner of the building, which was subsequently still rented nightly as the Hotel's Garden Suite. Famous or not, everyone who was a guest was considered to be one of the most cherished people in the world. After announcing their retirement, the Kraus family thanked all of their guests for the “wonderful memories”.
Today the hotel embodies all of the original building, to which several additions have been made. Two new kitchens were built and in 1964 another large dining room was added which utilized an old building adjoining the hotel. Bricks from Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store were used in 1879 to replace a wall of the building and now are part of the Nauvoo Room's east wall. Finger impressions were discovered in several of the clay bricks, a result of their being handmade. At one end of the room stands a German-era marble top sideboard, one of the pieces salvaged from the original hotel building. The Nauvoo Room is dedicated to the late Lane K. Newberry, an internationally famed artist and historian, who sketched the room before his death and was responsible for its re-birth. Many of his paintings hang in the various rooms of the hotel and serve as a reminder of Nauvoo's rich heritage which is very much alive in the present.
In the Heritage Room, opened in 1968, the wall of a French Icarian frame home and bricks from a Mormon era house were incorporated to depict a "street scene from bygone days”, bringing dining capacity to 300.
Other dining rooms, each with a unique atmosphere, feature handmade woodwork and arches typical of the original home. Today, all rooms are totally modernized while still retaining their original charm, and overnight rooms feature private baths and wireless high-speed Internet.
Nauvoo Properties 6-page color-coded presentation: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:3d0f4906-eaeb-4c92-8d5e-8bfe91fc6fcf
