🏨 Fess Hotel

The Fess Hotel was a hotel/restaurant begun by George Fess in the 1850s two blocks east of the capitol in Madison, Wisconsin. Through various configurations and remodels, the hotel served all classes of travelers and diners under the Fess family until 1972 - one of the longest-running service establishments in Madison. Its exterior also showcases unusually intact 19th century architecture. In 1978 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 2021, the building next to the Fess hotel was demolished, revealing the hotel's intact ghost sign on the side of the hotel.