Madison, WI — A open house to mark the 155 th anniversary of Best Western Premier Park Hotel on Madison’s Capitol Square will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 from 4pm to 6pm. The hotel has been known as the Park Hotel, the Park Motor Inn, and the Inn on the Park during its storied history. After a full renovation, the hotel returned to its original name of the Park Hotel and is now a Best Western Premier, offering upscale service and surroundings.
Park Hotel’s importance to Madison began by helping to retain the State Capitol in the late 1800’s. At that time, a movement occurred to try and move the Capitol to Milwaukee due to a lack of a Madison hotel. Local businessmen pooled their resources to build a grand Capitol Hotel to keep Madison as the State Capitol. The Mullins Family purchased the hotel in 1976. The Park Hotel welcomed its first guest on August 19, 1871, and it remains 155 years later as the only Capitol Square hotel.
