History of the Hotel Holden (Holden House Apartments)

Recently there has been a flurry of new hotels opening in Downtown Dayton, from the Fairfield Inn and Suites and AC Marriott in Water Street/Webster Station to the Hotel Ardent and the Hilton Garden Inn at the Dayton Arcade.

Historically there were many different hotel options in the central business district, the majority of which have since been demolished. But there are a couple former hotels that do stand.

One of them is the Biltmore Towers on Main Street. Another is a 9-story building on the west side of downtown at the SW corner of Fifth and Wilkinson streets. It was known as the Holden Hotel (or Hotel Holden) when it opened in 1916.

Today this location is a little off the beaten path: it’s close to Sinclair Community College but overall isn’t downtown’s most bustling area.

But when the hotel first opened, it was considered ideally located since it was next to Dayton’s busy Union Station. That provided a consistent clientele of “railroad men and salesman passing through the city” with “guests coming from all parts of the country having business with the merchants of Dayton.”

Articles from around its opening touted its light and airy rooms that were handsomely furnished, and the common areas were full of luxury from the lobby to its popular restaurant and bar. Overall though, the hotel was “a place where living prices are not prohibitive, but yet comfort is assured.”

When it opened the hotel boasted two Smith-Rea traction passenger elevators (“the same as are found in Dayton’s post office and government building”) and Bell Telephone Service (“a telephone in every room that connects with the exchange and the long distance lines of the Bell system”).

F. J. Holden was the general manager of the hotel, while Harry W. Deem was the chief clerk and assistant manager.

Union Station is long gone and this is one of the only structures near it to survive to this day. The building was converted to senior apartments in 1972. Today it is low income subsidized apartments known as the Holden House Apartments.

See a video version of this quick history that I posted on social media:

@daytonvistas Quick history of an apartment building that was a hotel when it opened in 1916. Back then this part of Downtown Dayton was completely different and a bustling hub of visitors from all over the country. #oldbuilding #daytonohio ♬ original sound – Dayton Vistas

Sources

Dayton Daily News, Nov 12, 1916