6. The Oliver House, 27 Broadway, once considered the city's finest hotel, is a three-story brick structure built in 1853 by J.C. Hall, son-in-law of Major William Oliver, pioneer Toledo. Since 1920 it has ben occupied by a firm manufacturing electrical fixtures. Each of its 170 rooms has a fireplace. The main entrance, through a tower like bay, is in its original state, with a richly ornamented marble mantel and a floor of black walnut and this ash blocks. -The Ohio Guide1940It 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.-
Maumee Bay Brewing
From the State of Ohio historical marker at Oliver House:
Side AOverlooking the "Middlegrounds," an early site of railroad, immigration, and commercial activity, the Oliver House opened in 1859 as Toledo's premier hotel. It was designed by nationally prominent architect Isaiah Rogers, in the Greek Revival style, and built by the family of William Oliver for whom the hotel was named; owner of this land, Oliver was one of Toledo's earliest real estate investors.
Side B
Architect Isaiah Rogers is known as the "father" of the modern hotel, revolutionizing hotel design with such advances as water closets and mechanical call-buttons. The Oliver House is the last of Rogers' hotels in the United States, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Buildings Survey.
The building is in very good shape as it approaches 175 years old. It has been home to almost every type of business venture imaginable. It is located very near the downtown area of Toledo and the brewery is worth a visit.