page_title: Lake Minnetonka
section_title: Glory years
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Minnetonka / History / Glory years
caption_attribution_description: English: Steamer Belle of Minnetonka, Lake Minnetonka.
context_page_description: Lake Minnetonka is an inland lake located approximately 15 miles west-southwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The lake lies within Hennepin and Carver counties and is surrounded by 13 municipalities. At 14,528 acres, it is Minnesota's ninth largest lake and is popular among boaters, sailors, and fishermen. It is also one of Minnesota's most affluent residential areas.
context_section_description: The construction of hotels and boarding houses near Lake Minnetonka boomed during the 1870s and early 1880s. The first large hotel on the lake, the Hotel Saint Louis in Deephaven, was built in 1879 and boasted 150 guest rooms with private verandas. The larger Lake Park Hotel was completed in Tonka Bay later that year. The largest hotel ever built on Lake Minnetonka, the Hotel Lafayette in Minnetonka Beach, opened in 1882. At nearly 800 feet (244 m) long and five stories tall, the Hotel Lafayette could accommodate over 400 guests. Many guests hailed from the Deep South and spent entire summers on the lake to enjoy its scenery and cooler climate.
  Large steamboats also proliferated on Lake Minnetonka during this time. The first inland steamboat ever to be equipped with electric lights, the City of Saint Louis, was assembled in Wayzata in 1881 and began servicing lakeside communities and resorts later that year. The largest vessel ever to operate on Lake Minnetonka, the Belle of Minnetonka, was launched and put into service in 1882. At 300 feet (91 m) long, the Belle of Minnetonka could purportedly accommodate up to 2,500 passengers.
  The lake's first yacht club, the Minnetonka Yacht Club, was founded in 1882 in Deephaven. Hazen Burton, one of the club's original co-founders, is credited for commissioning the development of the racing scow. When he debuted the first racing scow, the Onawa, in 1893, it was disqualified for winning nearly every regatta it entered. The rules were eventually modified, however, and racing scows became popular within the sailing community worldwide. The Onawa is currently displayed at the Excelsior-Lake Minnetonka Historical Society Museum in Excelsior.
  Many of Lake Minnetonka's visitors began finding new places to vacation as the railroads expanded westward in the 1890s, causing most of the lake's hotels and steamboats to suffer financially and cease operations. Some hotels burned during this time, but most were demolished or dismantled. By 1900, however, an increasing number of families had begun to construct private summer cottages around Lake Minnetonka. Permanent homes and grand country estates also began to appear around the lake as the Twin Cities metropolitan area grew. Some of these homes and cottages still exist, including the Thompson Summer House in Minnetonka Beach.
caption: Belle of Minnetonka circa 1883
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