“Originally opened as a hotel by William Oliver in 1859, who commissioned famed American architect Isaiah Rogers as designer. Rogers’ work includes the Ohio Statehouse, the Merchants Exchange Building on Wall Street, and the Tremont House hotel in Boston.
At the time of its construction, The...
Read More“Originally opened as a hotel by William Oliver in 1859, who commissioned famed American architect Isaiah Rogers as designer. Rogers’ work includes the Ohio Statehouse, the Merchants Exchange Building on Wall Street, and the Tremont House hotel in Boston.
At the time of its construction, The Oliver House was attractively positioned in an area of Toledo considered to be the center of downtown, near The Middlegrounds railroad center. It was among the first hotels in the United States to have a fireplace (for heat) in every room and bathrooms with running water on every floor. It was truly ahead of its time and no expense was spared.
As the city of Toledo rose down the street, the hotel was unfortunately too far from the city core to survive – and the opening of The Boody House hotel, a more modern and centrally located building, didn’t help matters. By 1880, Oliver’s hotel had fallen on hard times and into disrepair. In the ensuing years, the building took on several different purposes: a rooming house, a lighting manufacturing facility for wagon wheels and other industrial parts, and it was completely stripped of much of its luxurious hotel infrastructure.
Over the 20th century, the building now known as The Oliver House was used for various purposes – showrooms for a company known as Successful Sales (in the 1960s), rehearsal spaces, small businesses and offices, and novelty toy sales. After that, it was strictly a warehouse.
When the building was acquired in the 1990s, it had electric service and running water but no central heating. With a lot of work, we breathed life back into The Oliver House by cleaning brick, refinishing floors and restored molding to make this beautiful building into what you see today.”
Outdoor seating 
Restaurants
Hotels
Services
Stores
Lawyers
Health
Things To Do
Churches
Transportation
Walmart