Erie's History and Memorabilia

Charles Manning Reed, the original owner of the Reed House hotel in Erie, was the son of Colonel Set Reed, who was one of Erie County's first permanent settler. Arriving in the summer of 1795 he started in business by establishing a trading post, saw mill, and an inn on the site of the 1753 French fort. Succeeding generations, namely Rufus and Charles Manning, would considerably expand the family's commercial enterprises. By the mid-1830s Rufus was already one of Erie's wealthiest men, owning extensive property throughout the borough, as well as interests in shipping, grist mills, lumber mills, distilleries, and stagecoach lines. Charles gave every indication of being an even shrewder businessman than his father. Charles Manning Reed lead the new direction in Erie's economic development and the shift in the Reed family's own social and business values. When Charles Manning Reed built the Reed House Hotel, it stood as a symbol of a town and of an entr...

Once stood at the corner of West 10th and Peach streets, the Hotel Lawrence, which was Erie's finest beaux-arts hotel, and in fact one of the leading hotels in the state at one time, was built in 1911 at a cost of $2,500,000. Originally nine stories tall, the upper three stories were later added making the hotel 12 stories. It was owned and operated by the United Hotels Company, who owned and operate the hotel Bancroft in Worcester, Massachusetts. The hotel had 3 elevators, 267 rooms, a penthouse, an attractive main dining room, grill, several small banquet rooms, and a beautiful ball room. It was widely known for its attractive wall decorations and panel paintings: three panels representing Charlemagne and his army crossing the Alps ; two panels representing Roland in the Fairy Gardens of Falerina , where he went in search of Hector's armies ; and a painting representing A Roland for an Oliver . The Hotel Lawrence had many guests throughout the years and the most notable...