In 1928, Joe and Effie (Ma) Billings began construction on a new hotel and finished in1929 at a cost of $42,000. It was considered the most elegant and comfortable hotel in Northwest Colorado, and the food was the best around. The Billings had paid $20,000 on completion, and after two years, the dining room was closed because of Joe Billings’s health. In 1935 he passed away, leaving Ma Billings with the remaining balance to pay. She kept the best hotel for miles around, and it was always occupied. Ma still served the guests in the dining room even though it was closed to the public. All the rooms were furnished with water facilities, which were considered quite a rarity at that time. In 1962, at the age of 75, Ma Billings sold her hotel to Frank and Betty Curry and retired. The Curry’s sold the hotel when Frank retired. The new owners converted the entire building into apartments.
The Billings Hotel has stucco siding, a flat roof, and a rectanular floor plan. It is a two-story building facing west on the corner of Sharp Avenue and Colfax Street. There are wooden railings on the backside of the building next to the parking lot. A Laundromat is in the front on the first floor. The rest is made up into fifteen apartments.
Information gathered with the help of Mike Yurich of the Historical Society of Oak Creek & Phippsburg by Lucas and Ryan at Soroco High School, May 2004
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![The Billings Hotel 1929 [Click here to view full size picture]](javascript:showPic(new picObj('media/history/billings_hotel_1929_cropped.jpg', 'The Billings Hotel 1929',800,463));)
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