Broadway and Fountain that was built in 1908-09 by A.J. Flentge of Cape Girardeau.

A five-story structure to its south was apparently built in 1912.

The Hotel Idan-Ha was opened to the public on March 8, 1909.

In 1918 the owner (by then George McBride) purchased the adjoining Broadway

property on the west, with plans "as soon as the war is over" to enlarge the

hotel.

Walter Black bought the business in the early 1920s and in 1922 announced

plans to enlarge the Flentge building (the stone-faced structure) to five

stories to match the southern addition. The following year, the plans were

re-drawn and a single story was added to the Flentge building (making it the

three-story building in the photo). With that improvement, 44 more rooms

were added to the hotel, for a total of around 100 rooms.

Renovations were done periodically. One in 1923 noted the installation of

water in 15 rooms in the "old part" of the hotel.

It also went through numerous owners and managers, as well as various court

proceedings.

The hotel housed various businesses through the years, including barber

shops, a saloon, a pharmacy, a café, a restaurant, a tobacco store, doctors'

offices, a women's apparel store (Milady's), the Rose Room and the very

popular Rainbow Coffee Shop.

Among people to stay at the Idan-Ha were Evangelist Billy Sunday (1926) and

members of the Fort Wayne, Ind., and Muskegon, Mich., teams of the All

American Girls Baseball League, who trained in Cape Girardeau in 1950.

Fire destroyed the hotel on June 29, 1968.

--Sharon Sanders