The Hotel Finlen was established by James Finlen, the son of Miles Finlen, an Irish immigrant who had opened the McDermitt Hotel in Butte in 1889. The Hotel Finlen opened on January 1, 1924, and was architecturally inspired by the Astor Hotel in New York City. It was completed on a budget of $750,000 (). The tallest tower on the building was finished in 1924, and construction on a second tower began in 1927, but went unfinished due to the stock market crash of 1929.