The Bismarck Motor Hotel is a long-time local lodging facility located at 2301 E Main Avenue.
Roy Synstegard originated the hotel in 1939 as a tourist camp with three cabins. It grew into a modern motor hotel with 32 units by 1955, when he sold it to Alfred Retzlaff.
Much of the 1950s-era building was destroyed in a 2011 fire. A new hotel was erected on the same site in 2013.
Until the fire, the hotel was an iconic 1950s-era roadside motel noted for its retro sign featuring a star (pictured in this article). The new sign also incorporates a star, likely as a homage.
It is a common misconception that this was formerly the Knotty Pine Motel – a structurally-similar motel that operated immediately next door. Ironically, that hotel was also destroyed by fire – in 1985.
