The Randolph Hotel was one of Milwaukee’s large hotels in the west end of downtown at 4th & Wisconsin. It was built the same year as the Hilton(originally Schroeder Hotel) at 5th Street at a time when downtown was bursting at the seams and growth was at its highest point for the city. This rapid growth would last only a few more years until the stock market crash of 1929. The crash led to the owner of the hotel, Archie Tegtmeyer, to default on payments after which he lost the new hotel. World War II and the post war boom years helped downtown flourish after the Great Depression but by the late 1960s downtown began to stagnate. The late 1970’s were a low point with many of the mid-sized hotels like the Randolph taking on low-income tenants for longer periods of time to make ends meet. The shopping districts which helped to support downtown moved to the suburbs.

By the early 1980’s, with the Grand Avenue Mall project attempting to turn around the decay of downtown, there were plans by the City of Milwaukee to clear adjacent properties to spur continued development. The Randolph Hotel was one of many properties in that urban renewal corridor to be purchased for subsequent demolition. Because of its size, the Randolph could not be demolished easily and it was a candidate for demolition by explosives. The early morning of July 21st, 1985 was a unique event which drew crowds downtown to watch the fireworks. The following animated gif and photo shows how the Randolph Hotel met its end. Thanks to John Harley for the picture.