Antlers Hotel is a historic hotel building in
Lorain,
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
November 30, 1982.
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Building
The building sits on the southwest corner of Washington Avenue and West Erie Avenue overlooking a small city park. The four story rectangular building is by and has a basement. It was built in 1922 of tan brick having ornamental stone and terra cotta
Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
features in the Renaissance Revival
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...
style. A front porch is partially enclosed by bays
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
projecting from each end of the facade. The porch features baluster
A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...
s and classic detailing which is also present around the windows. The 80 room hotel includes a large auditorium, lobby, restaurant space, kitchen, bar and laundry facilities. In 1982 the building had been vacant for some years and the interior had suffered significant damage, yet the exterior and structure remained intact and in good condition.[ It has been converted to a 40 unit apartment building.]
History
The largest and finest hotel built in Lorain, it was constructed by the local Elks Lodge
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...
No. 1301 as a money making venture and to serve as a facility for lodge functions and activities.[ It opened on August 22, 1922, with 87 rooms and a 1,200 person capacity auditorium.][ After the ]1924 Lorain–Sandusky tornado
The 1924 Lorain–Sandusky tornado was a deadly F4 tornado which struck the towns of Sandusky, Ohio, Sandusky and Lorain, Ohio on Saturday, June 28, 1924. It remains the deadliest single tornado ever recorded in Ohio history, killing more ...
a temporary branch of the Cleveland Trust bank was opened in the hotel.[ One of the oldest ]Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...
meetings started on October 22, 1941, in the Antlers Hotel.[ Construction of the ]Ohio Turnpike
The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west for in the northern sect ...
and Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain states, Mountain West, Great Pla ...
coupled with motels built in the suburbs led decline for the Antlers Hotel and it was vacant from mid-1974 to 1986 when it was restored.[
]
Modern times
A holding company, Lorain Inc., bought the hotel in 1960 and sold it to Olimpio and Leona Giannini in 1966. Olimpio Giannini was charged (in 1967 and later convicted) with keeping a place for prostitution and a 15–year old girl was charged as a prostitute for the hotel.[ The hotel was boarded up from 1974 to 1985 when the city guaranteed about of low interest federal loans so Jon R. Veard could purchase and restore the building.][ It was opened as an apartment building in 1986 and it was maintaining near full occupancy mostly with senior residents.][
]
See also
* Child prostitution
Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent.
In most jurisdictions, child ...
* Historic preservation
Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...
* History of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global fellowship founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson (known as Bill W.) and Robert Smith (known as Bob Smith (doctor), Dr. Bob), and has since grown to be worldwide.
Alcoholism in the 1700s and 1800s
Nearly two centuri ...
*
* Urban decay
Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...
– Urban renewal
Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...
References
External links
* *
Buildings and structures in Lorain, Ohio
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
National Register of Historic Places in Lorain County, Ohio
{{LorainCountyOH-NRHP-stub