The Broadway Building

This location was originally home of the Reid House inn and social center where the surrounding community could gather for events. After the Reid House burned down in 1885, the corner plot became known as the Wagner Block which housed the Wagner Opera House and was home to Lorain city offices, commercial spaces, and a lodge hall before being destroyed in the 1924 tornado. The building we see today, with its quintessential simple Beaux-Arts style and perfectly symmetrical structure, was constructed in 1926. During its peak, the beautiful building with its arched doorways, lawyers, doctors, real estate offices, internal revenue services, veteran’s administration offices, draft board, social security offices, unemployment bureau, chamber of commerce, and a bowling alley drew large crowds daily. In 1989, a $7.5 million renovation occurred, transforming this highly utilized structure into the Renaissance Inn, signaling a rebirth of Lorain, before also being known as the Spitzer Plaza Hotel. The hotel served years of success before a decline and ultimate closure, leaving the building vacant today.