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 entrepreneur turning away from a lifestyle based exclusively on the economy of the waterfront to that of being a regional leader in manufacturing, trade and finance. When Reed died in 1871 he had been among other things, president of the Erie and Pittsburgh Railroad, vice-president of the First National Bank, and owner of the magnificent hotel bearing his name.
The Reed House, located at North Park Row and French Street, was elegant throughout and offered every attraction to the traveling public that was found in any first-class hotel of that time, with all the amenities of that time: a writing desk in each room, a shoe-shine boy, a 24-hour telegraph office, and a cafeteria where one could get a meal or room service any time of the day or night. Indoor plumbing, private bathrooms, elevators, luxurious suites, and a fine dining room were all the standard accommodation.
Erie's first water works was a system of log pipes laid under ground about 1840 or 1841, which brought spring water to downtown from the springs on the Reed Farm, south of Eighteenth, and west of Parade Street; until other supplies were gradually introduced. The Reed House was the last taker of water from that old system.
The Erie Motor Club was established in 1906 and had a membership of 25 at that time. It was reorganized in 1912. Under Mr. Stevens leadership, whom was the club’s president, the membership increased from 600 to 3,000 in 1925. Emergency road service was maintained and good road campaigns were promoted by the club. A monthly magazine was a feature of the local club, with Mr. Stevens as editor, and first-hand and up-to-date information concerning automobile roads and conditions was available to all members. Headquarters of the club was in the Lawrence Hotel with a branch office in the Reed House.
M. B. Collins, whom grew up in Buffalo, at the age of 16 held a laborer position at the General Hospital in Buffalo, where he remained for ten years, before becoming a stationary engineer apprentice. After his apprenticeship he worked for the Genessee Hotel in Buffalo as a stationary engineer, and after four years was appointed superintendent of the laundry department. Later, he came to Erie where he installed the city’s first mechanized laundry in the Reed House for J. S. Rowe, at that time the manager of the hotel. Mr. Collins then became associated with the American Laundry Company of Erie, and after three years went to Sharon, Pennsylvania. In January, 1908 he returned to Erie and organized the
United States Laundry Company.
The Erie Playhouse, one of the oldest community theaters in the nation, has it's roots in the hotel. Founded in 1916, it was began by organizing interested friends in amateur theatrics. These informal performances were staged in the old Chamber of Commerce rooms of the Reed Hotel.
The Erie Yacht Club, founded in 1894, also has its roots in the hotel, its first organizational meeting was held in the Writing Room of the hotel. The initial meeting was well attended. Forty-eight were on hand and seventeen names were sent into the proper committee, so the organization started off with practically 65 names on the roll. While the name originally proposed for the club The Keystone Yacht Club did not survive the proposition that it would have a clubhouse, plus a low building to keep sculls, a small boat, and equipment went forth.
The Reed House persevered in spite of being burned and rebuilt three times in 1839-40, 1864-65, and 1872-73, but failed to survive the test of time; and therefore, no longer exists. The Reed House Hotel was demolished in 1933.
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| Reed House Hotel, corner of North Park Row and French Street. |
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| Reed House Hotel after it was destroyed by fire in 1873. |
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| Reed House Hotel Lobby. |
