CHARITON, Iowa — The Hotel Charitone opened its doors over a century ago. After closing for 20 years starting in the ’90s, the hotel reopened and features areas for all community members.

The Hotel Charitone opened in 1923 as Chariton was a hotspot, being the intersection of the Burlington Railroad and the Rock Island Railroad. The hotel featured 59 rooms and allowed people a place to stay who were travelling through the town.

However, the hotel started to lose business and was forced to close in the ’90s. The building would remain closed until 2012, when the Lucas County Preservation Alliance stepped in. Following conversations with an architectural firm, the alliance was informed that the restoration and renovation of the hotel would cost upwards of $5 million.

The preservation alliance, along with local leaders and funding guidance from Hy-Vee, were able to get the money to restore the hotel. Two years later, in 2014, the hotel opened as an apartment complex. Denny Bisgard, board member of the Lucas County Preservation Alliance, says what the Hotel Charitone has to offer after reopening.

“Upstairs, there’s a bar and then a nice restaurant. Then we have three floors of exactly the same,” Bisgard said. “So, it’s four apartments, one, one-bedroom on each floor, and then the rest are two bedrooms on each floor. So, there’s 12 apartments in total, and we have no problem to keep it open. It’s done very well.”

The Iron Horse restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday. The meeting room is free to reserve for non-profits, and there is a small cleanup fee for those looking to reserve it for other events.

For more information on the Hotel Charitone, visit its website at this link.