The West Old & New November Vol. II Issue XI | Page 7

The Murray
Hotel
A première hotel in Livingston, MT.
Originally named the Elite Hotel the Murray Hotel is an historic
hotel in Livingston, Montana. The two story hotel was built at the
corner of Park and Second St. in 1904 by Josephine Kline to accommodate passengers from the Northern Pacific Railway. The
Elite was only one of thirteen hotels built in downtown Livingston
between 1884 and 1914 to service railroad travelers. Its construction was financed by the family of a future U.S. Senator from Montana, James E. Murray. The hotel's location opposite the Northern
Pacific Railway depot made it a prime destination for railroad travelers. The hotel is located within the Livingston Commercial District, a registered National Historic District.
In the 1920s, the hotel expanded to four floors and 66 rooms. In the mid-1920s, the Murray family foreclosed on Josephine Kline, took over the operation of the hotel and renamed it The Murray. Although Kline contested the foreclosure
all the way to Washington D.C. as late as 1934, she failed to recover ownership from the Murray’s. One of the unique
aspects of the Murray was the installation of a 1905 hand-cranked Otis Elevator, at the time the only elevator in
Livingston.
The Murray has always hosted a café or restaurant and a bar. The Murray Bar is well known for its celebrity visitors
during filming of movies in the Paradise Valley. The 2nd Street Bistro, opened in 2004 and preceded in years prior by
the Peterson and the Winchester Cafe, is the current hotel restaurant. The Bistro was featured in Anthony Bourdain: No
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