Location of the Reed Hotel

I'm sure you've seen postcards of places that used to exist and wondered, "Where was that?" Me too. So I thought it would be fun to put together a graphic to show you where the old Reed Hotel was located. Keep in mind that this is not to scale, just a representation of what the corner of French Street and North Park Row used to look like. The new picture of Erie Insurance on the right was taken in 2013.

Click here for a more detailed narrative of the Reed House hotel in Perry Square. The spot where the hotel used to sit is now a parking lot for Erie Insurance. Keep this image in mind the next time you visit the park. Just stand near the Edison electric fountain and look north.

Enjoy more fun facts about the history of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

Reed House Hotel in Perry Square

Old Time Erie postcard contributed by Tom DiLuzio.

The luxurious five-story Reed hotel attracted guests from all over the United States, including Buffalo Bill Cody. It sat right in the middle of Erie's commercial district, on the corner of North Park Row and French Street. Check out this description of the Reed House:

"The building is pressed brick, with stone, iron and terra cotta towers at each corner and in the center of the north and south fronts. The structure is in the form of a hollow square, thus securing an abundance of light and air to every room in the house, which is traversed by broad corridors running the entire length and breadth. Splendid staircases connect the various stories, and a fine passenger and baggage elevator enables guests to reach their rooms quickly and with little exertion. 

The first floor is laid in marble tiles, and comprises the spacious office, barroom, wine-room, barber shop, baggage room, etc., all elegantly finished in costly woods. On the second floor are the grand dining room, 80x120', reading and writing room facing French street and the park, 40x60', reception room, general parlor, ladies' parlor, sample rooms for traveling salesmen, and several beautiful suites of rooms for the use of guests.

The appointments as regards furniture, carpets, hangings and decorations are of the most luxurious kind, each room or suite of rooms being provided with toilet closet, bath, bells, gas-lights and the neatest, daintiest and most refreshing beds that ever invited the weary wayfarer to repose. 

The dining room with its array of spotless table linen, glittering glass, crystal and silver, and battalion of attentive colored waiters, is another most attractive feature, and especially worthy of the epicure's attention, and every substantial and delicacy obtainable being provided in profusion to tempt the appetite and satiate the inner man. All servants are in livery, and the promptitude and reliability of waiters, bell boys and all employed about the hostelry would satisfy the most exacting."

The description above was written in 1888. Sounds like we had our own Downton Abbey in Downtown Erie. The Reed House was demolished in 1933. A parking lot now occupies this site.

Enjoy more historical facts and photos of Erie, Pennsylvania at: Old Time Erie

Exchange Building on North Park Row in Erie PA

Postcard of the Exchange Building on North Park Row courtesy of Tom DiLuzio.

Commercial Italianate Architecture on North Park Row

by Tom Weber

"Built in the 1860s, the row of elaborately ornamental commercial buildings extending along North Park Row and State was the showplace of downtown Erie in the Civil War era. Rounded window openings on the ground floor, elaborate window moldings on upper floors, projecting cornices and elaborately shaped pediments carried out the Italianate tradition.

The district was anchored by two outstanding buildings- the Exchange Building on the corner, and the 'Marble Front,' now Purcell's Hardware [in 1982]. A variety of businesses and offices occupied the block, including Marine Bank and Dr. John Carter's pharmacy, birthplace of the internationally known 'Little Liver Pills.'

Below street level, their entrances surrounded by ornamental iron fences, were a series of smaller shops. Further west on North Park Row stood the Park Opera House, considered one of the finest entertainment halls between New York and Chicago.

By the 1920, however, the hub of commercial activity had moved even further south, and the Exchange Building and its neighbors underwent change and deterioration...Jewelers, clothiers and bankers moved their businesses uptown, and a succession of transient owners altered the district's stylistic integrity.

In 1979, the district was incorporated into the National Register of Historic Places, marking the beginning of a period of restoration in Erie's most valuable nineteenth-century commercial block." -used with permission of the author. Check out Tom Weber's latest creation, Troubadour Blues: http://www.troubadour-blues.com

The address of Marine Bank, shown in the postcard above, is 518 State St. in Erie, PA. The Exchange Building still stands and is located in Perry Square.

Here is one of the run-down businesses to the west of the Exchange Building: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/07/erie-restaurants-panos-new-york-lunch.html

Here's the Greyhound Station, also on North Park Row: http://oldtimeerie.blogspot.com/2012/10/greyhound-station-at-perry-square-erie.html

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: oldtimeerie.blogspot.com

Erie Restaurants- Panos New York Lunch- Perry Square

Panos' New York Lunch in Perry Square. Photo by Chester Wasielewski. ©Debbi Lyon 2012.

Does anyone remember stopping at Panos' New York Lunch in Perry Square after getting off a bus at the nearby Greyhound station? The building was for rent when this photo was taken by Chester Wasielewski. This location of Panos' NY Lunch sold products by Meadow Brook Dairy. The New York Lunch sign on this building was painted over the sign of the previous tenant, Born's Dairy.

New York Lunch was a hot spot amongst workers at the Public Library, the Courthouse and City Hall who were looking for a quick, cheap meal and good conversation.

The donut shop on the right sold products by Sanida Dairy.