Skip to content
  • Subscribe to our Newsletter
  • Like it? Steal it
  • IowaWatch
  • IowaWatch
  • Business
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Government & Politics
  • Health
  • About
  • Contact
  • Global Navigation
    • Subscribe to our Newsletter
    • Like it? Steal it

Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism - Explanatory and Investigative Journalism in Iowa

Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism (https://iowawatch.org/2018/12/01/early-20th-century-des-moines-woman-buys-hotel-as-side-business/)

  • Business
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Government & Politics
  • Health
  • About
  • Contact
  • Don't Miss
  • The IowaWatch Connection
  • Databases
  • News Quizzes
  • Center News
Anna Murphy

Early 20th Century Des Moines Woman Buys Hotel As Side Business

By Cheryl Mullenbach/Iowa History | December 1, 2018
LikeTweet EmailPrint More
  • More on Anna Murphy
  • Subscribe to Anna Murphy

Courtesy Library of Congress

A hard-working waitress

“It is true that waiting on cranky people in a hurry is about the hardest thing that a girl can do,” Anna Murphy told a reporter in 1909. Murphy, owner of the Hotel Goldstone located at 314 East Fifth Street in Des Moines, admitted she had a difficult time hiring and retaining good waitresses at her hotel restaurant.

IowaHistoryLogo

Iowa History, a weekly column, appears at IowaWatch on Saturdays.

Cheryl MullenbachCheryl Mullenbach is the author of non-fiction books for young people. Her work has been recognized by International Literacy Association, American Library Association, National Council for Social Studies, and FDR Presidential Library and Museum.

Visit her website at: www.cherylmullenbachink.com

The Goldstone was opened in 1887 complete with conveniences such as a telephone, dinner gong, fire alarms and steam heat in every room. Porcelain tiled fireplaces were topped off with wood mantels; bathrooms were located on each floor. The dining room located on the second floor could seat 64 diners comfortably. The basement held the kitchen and laundry.

When Murphy purchased the Goldstone in the early 1900s, the three-story structure offered 50 rooms for guests. She worked as a stenographer in a Des Moines law firm, saving her wages to make the big purchase. However, news articles mentioned that she had also acquired a mortgage to help with the purchase. “Just a little side investment in high finance, you know,” Murphy remarked when asked about her business. However, she saved a little on the transaction as she completed all the legal paperwork herself—thanks to expertise she had gained from her job at the law office.   

Although Murphy continued to work as a stenographer, she oversaw most aspects of the hotel—hiring workers, buying supplies and keeping the books. “It is all in having a little nerve and understanding something about the way business deals are carried on these days,” Murphy said about her hotel venture.  

Her restaurant had a reputation for excellent food. “The patronage is increasing all the time and my guests say I give them the best table in Iowa,” she said. However, her struggle to find waitresses persisted. She admitted the job required someone who wasn’t afraid of hard work, and she wanted women who were independent thinking. But it wasn’t unusual for a good waitress to pick up and leave when insulted by a diner. With the shortage of waitresses in the city, she could easily find another position in a competitor’s restaurant. Murphy said women leaving to get married was one of her biggest obstacles to keeping reliable workers. “It is a fact, though, that a restaurant owner prizes a waitress, next to his cook, as one of the most valuable of his assets,” she said.

Overall, Murphy thought she had made the right decision in expanding into the hotel business. “You have to take long chances to win. I took a chance in investing in this hotel and running it. But I am making it pay out and expect to win.”

©www.CherylMullenbachInk.com

Sources

  • “Plucky Young Iowa Woman,” Olean (NY) Evening Times. Apr. 14, 1909.
  • “This Girl Stenographer Runs a Big Hotel She Bought Just as a Side Line,” Spokane Press, Jan. 19, 1909. 
  • “Waitresses Few and Hard to Keep,” Des Moines Register, Feb. 1, 1909.
LikeTweet EmailPrint More
  • More on Anna Murphy
  • Subscribe to Anna Murphy

Related Series

Iowa History

Iowa History, a weekly column by Cheryl Mullenbach exploring Iowa history, will appear on IowaWatch on Saturdays. Mullenbach is a former history teacher, newspaper editor, and public television project manager. She is the author of four non-fiction books for young people. Double Victory was featured on C-SPAN’s “Book TV” and The Industrial Revolution for Kids was selected for “Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People.” Visit her website at http://www.cherylmullenbachink.com/.

Tags
  • Iowa History
  • Anna Murphy
  • Des Moines
  • Des Moines Register
  • Hotel Goldstone

Read Next

  • Ella Wister Haines Made Her Mark As Mid-20th Century Iowa Mother And Writer

    SUPPORT NON-PROFIT JOURNALISM AT IOWAWATCH
    “Paul’s eyes rested upon Sweetheart’s hungrily, longingly. She wasn’t his sister!

Previous Story
Learn About IowaWatch In Less than One Minute
Next Story
Podcast: Elections Are Over, But Not Interest In Politics For These People
  • IowaWatch
  • Donate
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Staff & Contributors
  • Ethics & Accuracy
  • Work With Us
  • Our Supporters

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2021, Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism

Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑