April 25, 2017

Favorites April 2017

The Oxbow Hotel of Eau Claire, Wisconsin

Fun, swank, and simply beautiful this hotel is a collaborative effort of a group of visionaries helping to keep the revitalization of downtown Eau Claire in full swing. We toured the place in March on our way back from the northland, here is a bit of their story from the website:

“Since the booming logging days of the Chippewa Valley, the ground beneath the Oxbow has always been home to a boarding house or hotel. In 1947, the current building was constructed as the Edwards Hotel.

This key piece of downtown lodging came online in an era when downtown was strong with department stores, restaurants, and small retailers – and it quickly became known as a central “salesman’s stop” for those mid-century road warriors visiting Eau Claire on business for the night…

…Fast forward to 2013 when a ragtag group of locals, seeing a bright future ahead for downtown Eau Claire, bought the property with the intent to create a destination boutique hotel, restaurant/bar, and event venue. It opened to the public in the fall of 2016.

That core group of collaborators included Nick Meyer, a local publisher/editor/retailer, Ben Richgruber, a local arts administrator, Justin Vernon, the local musician behind Bon Iver and other projects, and Zach Halmstad, a local software company founder.”

Check out records for the night. Yes!

Or you can dig your LP’s out of the closet (where you’ve been storing them because you no longer have a turntable yet you can’t quite see tossing out relics that changed your life) and bring them along for your stay.

The bedrooms each have a record player for your listening and historian’s pleasure. Yes, those are instructions of “How to Play A Record”. Finally the dinosaurs have an advantage.

Exquisite rooms.

Cheers to Justin Vernon and all those who take the leap to create beautiful ventures and enrich the neighborhood! Stop in when you’re in Eau Claire, and definitely don’t miss the attached restaurant and bar The Lakely for dinner or a beverage, or check out Oxbeaux in June—their pre-fest concert and party before the Eaux Claire Music and Art’s Festival.