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(Photograph by Steve C. Martens)
The Hotel Berry stands as a visual reminder of the symbiotic relationship between railroad expansion and the development of the state’s commercial and agricultural centers. Velva was established on the Soo Line in 1893. In an era marked by railroad travel and luxury accommodations, the town’s location inevitably led to establishment of one of the earliest first-rate hotels built in the state. While many hotels have disappeared, this establishment, founded by T. F. Berry, stands as one of the state’s best-preserved turn-of-the-twentieth-century hotels. The three-story building is constructed of hard-fired brick, laid in buttered joints. The regularly spaced windows have stone lintels and jack arches, divided equally by brick pilasters. Large plate-glass windows with leaded- or stained glass transoms admit light into the lobby. The hotel’s entrance is canted at the southeast corner of the building behind a square brick column on a sandstone base.
The interior of the hotel retains many original finishes with few alterations. The spacious lobby is dominated by a curved wooden reception desk on the north wall with a glass-top display case. A brick fireplace with a wooden mantel and mirror bisects the south wall of the lobby. The second and third floors are identical in configuration and consist of sixteen rooms each. The hotel closed temporarily in 1979, but subsequent owners have renovated and reopened it.