| Additional Information: | Topped with a flat roof with wide, overhanging eaves, this largely two-story, Contemporary-style motel structure is constructed of concrete and faced with limestone. A one-story section fronts N. Main Street, while the remainder to the rear (east) is two stories high. A one-story wing extends to the south from the rear. A modern “porte cochere” topped with a flat-roof and featuring a decorative concrete block support provides shelter for those checking in. Original window and door arrangement appear to remain intact. When compared to a 1960s-era postcard view and a 1965 rendering, the original block has changed little since its construction. Less the two-story addition to the rear and the one-story connection to the three-story building to the south, the only readily noticeable changes include the removal of the vertical element along the south side of the building that once carried the word “MOTEL,” as well as the removal of the “Skycrest” lettering that had been affixed to the front of the building. No interior inspection was completed.
This facility was built as the Skycrest Motel in 1961, which was run by the Gilbert Durand family. Durand and his family moved in circa 1960 to River Falls from Spooner; he also had a construction company and his firm, who had an office at this address at least for a short time, was responsible for the motel’s construction. Clearing for the approximately $110,000 building began in March 1961 and included the removal of a house that had previously stood on the parcel. When the motel opened in late October, twenty-two of its total twenty-seven rooms were complete; custom-built desks and tables in the building were produced by Dur-A-Bilt Manufacturing Company of Spooner and windows were made by Andersen. The remaining five rooms were identified to be finished over the winter. The Gilbert’s daughter, Mrs. Joyce Meier, was cited to work the front desk. Selling points for the motel included air conditioning, wall-to-wall carpeting and that each room had a private bath/shower finished in tile. A café opened in the building in early 1962.
The Skycrest changed hands by no later than 1968, when Joe and Lois Walter were identified as hosts. By 1971, along with the motel, the address was identified as the Skycrest Residential Care Center, which was run by Norman and Ruth Hilleren. The Hillerens, in 1959, had established the River Falls Nursing Home; just two years later, it was expanded to sixty-four beds. And, in 1972, ground was broken at the Skycrest property for an $800,000, 123-bed expansion for the residential care facility, which resulted in a total of 175 beds. The name of the nursing home facility would later change to the River Falls Care Center. In 1982, the first floor of the former motel (which was no longer listed in telephone directories as of 1974) would be utilized as a daycare center, known as Kids Care Center. In 1990, the entire facility would be purchased by the Lutheran Home Association and renamed the Lutheran Home. Despite the purchase, the daycare would continue to operate out of the motel building through 2007. Reports as of October 2007 suggest that the motel building would be razed and replaced with a new, 50-unit assisted living facility for the elderly. The motel wing continues to stand vacant. |
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| Bibliographic References: | "New Lunch Room Open at Skycrest Motel," River Falls Journal, 1 February 1962, 1/5.
“New 30-Unit Motel Started Here,” RFJ, 30 March 1961, 1/1-3, the article cites the parcel as “the old Lee Flint property”; “New Skycrest Motel Nears Completion,” photo and caption, RFJ, 28 September 1961, 4/5-6; “River Falls Growing…Second Half Building Permits Total $335,026,” RFJ, 12 October 1961, 1/3; “New Skycrest Motel Plans Open House Next Sunday,” RFJ, 26 October 1961, 1/1-3, ad for opening, pages 4-5; Postcard image of Skycrest Motel, circa 1960s, In possession of Traci E. Schnell, Menomonee Falls, WI; Advertisement for Skycrest Motel (includes drawing), in River Falls Telephone Book (1965), Ad section, page 26.
“River Falls Phone Book,” 1961, 1962, 1968-1974; “Ground Broken for $800,000 Skycrest Residential Expansion,” RFJ, 16 November 1972, B-1, 6-8; “Daycare’s Closure Will Make Space for Nursing Home to Rebuild, Expand,” RFJ, 25 October 2007. The use of the motel wing between the closure of the motel and its use as a daycare facility needs to be reviewed. |
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