Part 10 (continued) – John Quincy Adams Ward

Posted on by Darrin M. VonStein
Left: Houston Block addition.
Right: Weaver Hotel.

In late 1881 or early 1882, John Q. A. Ward would help secure two commissions for Thomas Wisedell in his hometown Urbana, Ohio — The Houston Block (later known as the Egenberger Block) on South Main Street and the remodeling of the nearby Weaver House hotel on the southwest corner of Monument Square.

The Houston Block was an addition to the existing three-story building built by Frank Houston in 1879 and both building shared the same entrance and stairway to the upper floors. Wisedell’s addition was a three-story building with commercial spaces on the ground floor, offices on the second, and a Masonic Temple on the top floor. Unfortunately, no photos of the interior of the Masonic Temple have been found though the space was described in the local press upon its opening on March 1, 1883.

The Temple  included a reception area, offices, a banquet hall, offices, an armory, a “Hall of the West,” and a dressing room, auditorium and gallery.  However, it is not known if Wisedell was involved in the Temple’s design since it was common in the 18th and 19th centuries for the masons to design their own spaces.

Right: Houston Block, 1878-79.  Left: Houston Block addition by Thomas Wisedell, 1881-1883. Photo ca. 1910.

Unfortunately, a massive fire on June 24, 1898 which started in a livery stable behind the Houston Block destroyed the two upper floors including the Masonic Temple.  It is unknown how much of the fire damaged the facade, but when the upper floors and the Temple was rebuilt, new window hoods which included the Masonic symbols of the compass and square were added to the building.  Photos showing the interior and exterior of the building prior to the fire have not been located.

While designing the Houston Block, Thomas Wisedell was also hired to redecorate the nearby Weaver House hotel at the southwest corner of Monument Square.  The building was originally two stories and constructed in 1825 By John C. Pearson and sold to Henry Weaver (d. 1872) in the late-1830’s or early-1840’s. In 1862, Weaver’s son Simeon began to remodel and expand the building to become the Weaver House, a three-story hotel and boarding house which opened in 1863. Apparently there were problems completing the project and Simeon’s father stepped in and hired architect J.L. Kapple in the spring of 1864 and the hotel was fully completed in 1865. In 1870, Henry added a fourth story and a Mansard roof creating a fifth story used for hotel offices and storage.

Weaver Hotel, ca. 1904 when it was known as the Douglas Inn.

Following Henry Weaver’s death in 1872, the hotel eventually came under the ownership of one of his sons, Lemuel. In 1877, Charles L. Stough was hired as the hotel’s new manager and two years later, he was replaced by Aaron Wiley. It was under Wiley’s management and Lemuel’s ownership that Thomas Wisedell was hired in either late 1881 or early 1882. Though neither plans nor photos of this project have been found, newspaper accounts do give a sense that this was not a minor job and one description said that Wisedell’s remodeling cost was around $25,000.

Wiley had began redecorating the hotel in 1881 with new carpeting for the stairs, repainting the papering the hallways, and redecorating the dining room and restaurant on the second floor. The work that Thomas Wisedell was involved principally entailed remodeling the ground floor lobby and redecorating the fourth-floor suites.  For the lobby, the front desk was moved from the east wall to the south wall.  Behind the desk was a baggage slide to the basement and a new baggage lift was added to rear of the building.  On the west side of the lobby, he designed a new fireplace mantel and seated inglenook.  The ceiling was redesigned with oak beams forming square panels.  It was following this redecoration that it’s name was changed from Weaver House to the Weaver Hotel.

Like the Houston Block, there are no known photos of the interior that date from the 1880’s.  The building also went through various renovations, especially around 1900 when the build switched owners and was renamed the Douglas Inn.     The building has recently been gutted and remodeled into apartments, erasing any traces of Wisedell’s work that may have remained.  At the rear of the building, however, a remnant of the shaft for the baggage lift added by Thomas Wisedell can still be seen.

Further Reading:

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