In 1882, Fredrick and Robert Hager from St. Paul MN built the Inter Ocean Hotel one block north of the Northern Pacific (NP) Railroad Depot at the northwest corner of Dilworth Avenue (today denoted as 3rd Avenue) and Main Street. The opening closely coincided with the completion of the NP railroad bridge across the Missouri River. The first building on the site cost $86,000 and was among a number of hotels that were established in that area of town.
In September 1915 then ND Governor Louis Benjamin Hanna, a successful businessman from the Red River Valley with interests in lumber, grain and banking, acquired the property and renamed it the Lewis and Clark Hotel. In 1917, the original structure was demolished and replaced with the new Lewis and Clark Hotel at a cost of $200,000. Newspaper accounts touted the new structure as "The Pride of Mandan." The current building boasts brick construction with Art Deco ceramic decorative tile trim. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The building was designed by William J. Gage who was born in New York City and studied architecture at the University of Illinois. He began his career with the firm of Long, Lamoreaux and Long of Minneapolis in 1911 but joined Ellerbe and Round of St. Paul from 1912-1913. After moving to Fargo in 1913, Gage drafted for Haxby and Gillespie until 1915 when he and his partner Archie Ashelman began their firm there. Around 1919, Gage moved to Seattle and eventually to California in 1921. Another featured work, the Beverly Hills, CA City Hall also remains in active use today.
In its earliest days, the building tenants included the Merchants National Bank. Today, several business offices reside on the ground floor of the building. The former Billards Room is now home to a community church. Private apartments reside on the upper floors.
