🧱 Braun Hotel / Buffalo Steakhouse

Address:  902 North River Street, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Built:  1908 (Bath House addition 1910)

First Occupant:  Braun Hotel (opened 1908) and Braun Bath House (opened 1910)

Current Occupant:  Braun Hotel / Buffalo Steakhouse

Architect:  Unknown

Contractor:  Jay Putnam (contract price $10,000)

Sandstone Quarry:  Evans Quarry, Fall River County, SD — the largest of the pink sandstone quarries, located five miles east of Hot Springs

Architectural Style:  Mansard roof with pent-roofed dormers, Romanesque commercial sandstone

📜 Historical Overview

The site of the Braun Hotel was first home to the Evans Mineral Mud Bath House, opened in 1902 by Fred T. Evans. After Evans’ death in October of that year, the property changed hands several times before being sold to Henry and Ella Braun in October 1905.

Construction on the L-shaped Braun Hotel began in the fall of 1907. By March 1908, the sandstone walls were complete and the distinctive mansard roof was being installed. The hotel’s roof featured a variety of shingle patterns and pent-roofed dormers, which provided both practical shade and decorative division between floors.

Inside, the hotel offered modern amenities for its time: hot-water heating, reading rooms and parlors for men and women, and guest accommodations on the upper floors. The north side of the first floor housed two dining rooms, a kitchen, and offices; the south side was reserved for public parlors and reading spaces. A house physician maintained an office adjacent to the main lobby, and an operating room was located on the third floor.

In May 1910, the Brauns expanded their enterprise by constructing the Braun Bath House as part of the hotel. Built with cement floors for sanitation, it featured separate men’s and women’s bathing areas in the basement, offering both mud and steam baths. Equipment from the original Evans Mud Bath Center was moved into the new facility.

Ella Braun passed away in 1918, and Henry later married Hannah Larson. The couple continued to operate the hotel, serving family-style meals to both guests and local patrons. After Hannah’s death from cancer, the property was sold at a county tax sale in January 1940. At that time, the building was converted to include apartments.

📍 Modern Era

Today, the Braun Hotel building remains a recognizable landmark on North River Street, its mansard roof and sandstone façade preserving over a century of Hot Springs history. The structure currently houses the Buffalo Steakhouse and retains much of its early 20th-century character.

🔍 Research Notes & Requests

Save Our Sandstone is still seeking:

• Original architectural plans or drawings of the hotel and bath house
• Historic interior photographs prior to the 1940 conversion
• Records of the hotel’s early medical and bath services

QR Code Info:  Built in 1908 of Evans Quarry sandstone, with a bath house added in 1910, the Braun Hotel grew from the earlier Evans Mineral Mud Bath House of 1902. Its mansard roof, pent-roofed dormers, and Romanesque stonework reflected modern style and comfort, offering mud and steam baths along with hot-water heating and elegant dining rooms. More than a century later, the Braun endures as a prominent reminder of Hot Springs’ mineral-water resort era.