Coming together for the Hotel Pawnee

The contributions of the Hotel Pawnee to the city's economic growth are many.

But some believe the writing was on the wall after Union Pacific stopped using the hotel to lodge its workers in the 1970's.
Still, the hotel held on tight until the very end.

Now, local community members and leaders would like to see the building revived.

They fear the building is deteriorating by the day, which is why they say it is so critical to get inside to do an assessment to see if there is even a chance of saving it.

They say it's a monumental effort, but one they feel can be accomplished if everyone just works together.

"I believe it can be saved, but it will take a lot of money," said local historian Casey Anderson. "Somebody with a lot of money and somebody who really, really cares about the history and loves North Platte enough that they want to invest in our town."

"You look at all of the cool things that have been done in larger communities and historic downtowns and the way they have taken old buildings and made them really viable entities again, that's what needs to happen in North Platte," said North Platte Area Chamber Development Corporation President and CEO Gary Person. "It is very frustrating and disappointing to see that they are not willing to cooperate."

Building inspector for the City of North Platte Dave Hahn says buildings are condemned when they are no longer structurally sound and an immediate life safety hazard to the downtown area and the community.

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