The Fountain Hotel
Front of the hotel
Fountain Hotel is located in Ohio
Fountain Hotel
Fountain Hotel is located in the United States
Fountain Hotel
Location100-110 W. Spring St., St. Marys, Ohio
Coordinates40°32′34″N 84°23′20″W / 40.54278°N 84.38889°W / 40.54278; -84.38889
Area0.3 acres (0.12 ha)
Built1889
Architectural styleLate Victorian, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No.97001564[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 19, 1997

The Fountain Hotel is a historic former hotel in downtown St. Marys, Ohio, United States. Built in 1889 in a mixture of the Queen Anne and Victorian architectural styles, the hotel building sits in the 100 block of West Spring Street.[1]

Also known as the "Fort Barbee Hotel,"[1] the Fountain Hotel is a brick building that is built on a foundation of sandstone and covered with an asphalt roof.[2] On the first story, the facade is divided into multiple storefronts,[3] but the rest of the hotel has been converted into housing for low-income individuals aged fifty-five or older. Conversion to its present format was carried out by the Muskingum Development Corporation in the 1990s, at a cost of $2 million to $3 million; aid was provided by the Minster State Bank, which offered reduced interest rates to the redevelopers.[4]

Surrounding the Fountain Hotel are several other important community locations, such as the municipal building, the Buckeye Trail route along the Miami and Erie Canal, and a community park. Adjacent to the hotel is a small spring; once tapped to provide water for Fort St. Marys, which once occupied the location of the city's downtown, the spring was later converted into a fountain that became the hotel's namesake.[5]

In 1997, the Fountain Hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Key to this designation was its place in local history and commerce, as it once played the role of a hotel, specialty store, and restaurant.[2] Two other properties in St. Marys are listed on the Register: the Dr. Issac Elmer Williams House and Office, built in 1903,[1] and the former Holy Rosary Catholic Church, which was destroyed one year before it was placed on the Register.[1][6]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Fountain Hotel, The, Ohio Historical Society, 2007. Accessed 2010-08-06.
  3. An Emergency Resolution Authorizing a Loan to the Community Improvement Corporation of the City of St. Marys for Fort Barbee Project Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine, St. Marys, 2010. Accessed 2010-08-06.
  4. Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation: Minster State Bank, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, 1997-12-15, 8. Accessed 2010-08-06.
  5. Pond, Robert J. Follow the Blue Blazes: A Guide to Hiking Ohio's Buckeye Trail. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2003, 129.
  6. Shuffelton, Frank B. "Holy Rosary Catholic Church". Auglaize County Historical Society, ed. A History of Auglaize County Ohio. Defiance: Hubbard, 1980, 211-212.
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