The Thayer Hotel has a long and at times tumultuous history in Annandale. The following historical overview was constructed from the Advocate’s archives.
When it opened in 1895 the hotel included 35 guest rooms, a grand lobby with a Steinway piano, a room for traveling salesmen to display their wares, laundry service and a dining room.
It was the first building in Annandale to have gas lights and electricity. A board walk connected the hotel with Annandale’s train depot before Highway 55 was built, perhaps accounting for the building’s offset angle and proximity to the road.
Gus and Caroline Thayer built the hotel when they were offered land and operating capital from the Soo Line Railroad.
In 1920 Gus Thayer sold the hotel and the new owner, Samuel Heasely, renamed it the Annandale Hotel.
In the ensuing years, the hotel deteriorated and was used mostly for inexpensive housing. It came up for sale in 1976, and fearing that a new owner would continue to operate it as a cheap hotel, the city of Annandale purchased the property. The city’s plan was to purchase the hotel and offer it for re-sale, but it ended up being community-owned property for the next six years.
In 1978 the building was placed on the National Registry of Historic Places, but by that time the hotel was seriously deteriorated, with the roof leaking so badly there was standing water on all three floors and the porches for which the building was noted sagging nearly to the point of collapse.
With the community split on whether to raze the building or to preserve it for its historical significance, a legal battle ensued over the future of the hotel.
Just one week before its scheduled demolition, the preservationists won the fight and the city began seeking proposals from developers for the restoration and use of the property. When none came forward, then-Mayor Wally Houle led a group of businessmen and investors who purchased the hotel and began restoring it in September of 1984.
By late spring of 1985, the $550,000 project was complete and the business re-opened under its previous name, the Thayer Hotel.
Haunted house
In 1993 Sharon Gammell purchased the hotel and completed further restoration, opening it as an 11-room bed and breakfast using the names Thayer Inn and Thayer’s Historic Bed ‘n Breakfast. She claimed to have spent $3.8 million in the remodeling effort.
Not afraid of controversy, Gammell created a stir shortly after opening her business by hosting an event that featured male dancers.
The location also became known as a hot spot for paranormal activity, and Gammell used the Thayer as a venue for her psychic medium and ghostly adventures services. She also hosted murder mystery dinners.
No previous mention of hauntings had been made in the hotel’s earlier history, but Gammell’s tactics helped put the Thayer on the map. In 2004 WCCO-TV videotaped a night at the Thayer, billing it as a night at a haunted hotel. The Thayer was also featured in three books and a national magazine called "In Traveler" under Gammell’s ownership.
More hard times
Despite the notoriety, Gammell eventually sold the hotel to her friend, Katherine Owens, in 2006, though she continued to operate it as before.
Owens told the Advocate that she had purchased the hotel to aid Gammell and prevent a bank takeover. She claimed there was an understanding that Gammell would make monthly lease payments as well as pay property taxes, but that Gammell never followed through on her end of the bargain.
In 2011 Owens finally evicted Gammell from the building, which was left vacant. At the time Owens said she had been looking to sell the building since 2006, but had received only one offer for $50,000. In 2006 the building had an assessed value of over $1 million.
In 2012 the building was put back on the market at a price of $199,000. While there was interest from prospective buyers, no viable offers were forthcoming, and in March of 2013 the building’s furnishings were auctioned off. Later in the year, with the price dropping to $174,900, Owens negotiated out of her mortgage with Quantum Servicing in Tampa, Fla.
New phase
The sale of the Thayer to Renewal Development early this year has begun the next phase of the building’s story. According to Paul Bertelson of Renewal Development, the Thayer’s exterior will be refurbished this summer, including the siding and iconic balconies. The building’s next use has not yet been determined.
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