Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe

Hotel Lester-Lester Cafe, also known as the Dodge House-Long Branch, is a historic site in Mason City, Iowa, built in 1915 as a railroad hotel. It is the last remaining railroad hotel in the city, originally serving travelers with 29 guest rooms and commercial spaces below. Notably, it hosted track star Jesse Owens in 1937 when he faced racial discrimination at other hotels. Renamed in 1975, it later became a rooming house and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. After a fire in 2006, the building was partially renovated into apartments, preserving its historical significance.