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Piqua begins historic renovations
The Fort Piqua Hotel, closed since 1984, will become a big library and the 'cornerstone of downtown,' mayor says.
Friday, December 15, 2006
PIQUA — A large cheer went up Thursday evening from the more than 200 wind-whipped and chilled spectators as a small set of lights went on over the portico of the shuttered Fort Piqua Hotel.
The gathering marked the start of an 18-month, $19.6 million renovation of the historic downtown landmark, closed since 1984.
The Fort Piqua Hotel restoration project held its construction commencement ceremony Thursday in front of the building, which was constructed in 1891. After speeches, Ruth Koon, leader of the Hotel/Library Legacy Alliance, lit the Christmas tree and garland lights along with a few spot lights on the front of the historic structure. Unfortunately, the speeches finished early and it wasn't dark enough for the lights to show as well as intended."A year-and-a-half from now, this hotel will breathe new life into downtown," Mayor Tim Hudson told the crowd. "This will be cornerstone of downtown."
But it will never again be a grand hotel.
"The hotel will go back to being what it once was — a community center," Flesh Public Library director Jim Oda said recently.
The library will occupy the basement and first three floors of the building, eventually expanding its space from its current 15,000-square-foot location to 45,000 square feet.
"We will have the most spectacular library in the state," said Ruth Koon, leader of the Hotel/Library Legacy Alliance, which raised $2.6 million in local pledges for the project in 10 days.
The project is funded through a package of state grants, state and federal tax credits and more than $7 million in local money.
The four-story brick and stone hulk has stood on the northwest side of the downtown square since 1891. Over the years and owners, it went from a grand hotel to one catering to traveling salesmen and middle-class tourists to a transient hotel.
"Nothing symbolizes the breathing of new life into this building (more) than the lighting of lights," Tom Zechman, the city's public works director, said as Koon flipped the switch to light the portico roof.
Contact this reporter at (937) 335-3838 or
dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Famous visitors to the Hotel Fort Piqua
President William McKinley: 1891, 1892, 1893
President Rutherford B. Hayes: 1892
Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan: 1896
Labor leader Samuel Gompers: 1908
President Warren G. Harding: 1910, 1912
President Theodore Roosevelt: 1912
President William Howard Taft: 1912
Magician Harry Houdini: 1917
Source: Hotel Plaza: A Poem in Stone by James Oda
