Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the hotel is named for William L. Yancey, who became its proprietor after signing a lease with Keith Neville and Alex Beck in 1928. Construction began in March 1929, and the hotel opened in October. Yancey, who had been engaged in the hotel business since he was a teen-ager, also had interests in Grand Island's Yancey Hotel.
The six-story steel and brick building, later known as the Hotel Pawnee, was designed in the Georgian Revival style. The interior is remarkably intact and features a lobby and mezzanine of eclectic design.