When and What:  Pre 1880 This is one of the hotels built on lake Minnetonka before 1880. I was going to call this the Tonka Bay Hotel, but after close examination it's clear that while it probably is the Tonka Bay in it's early years before a major renovation there is also a small chance it may be another hotel. One design was often used to build several similar structures in that era. Roof top observation decks were also the rule for any building which catered to tourists. Buildings still had distributed chimneys because central hot water heat was not yet a practical reality. The peeked structures toward the center of the building are of course stair wells. The elevator was still a relative rarity. With oil and gas lighting, local space heating (i.e. fire place or stove) and personal smoking the rule, many of these wooden buildings were at risk of not surviving long enough to be torn down.

I was convinced that this was the Tonka Bay Hotel before some major modifications were made. I was also under the impression that the Tonka Bay Hotel was once the LAKE PARK Hotel. This creates a problem however as the Lake Park was a two story structure as indicated by photo's in the Minnesota Historical Societies collection. So what is it?