by Pete Zizka
4-2- 2022
In 1889, Richard M. Bayles wrote, “In hotel accommodations Willimantic stands second to no town in Connecticut, There are five, viz., Hooker House (new), Brainard House, Hotel Commercial, Revere House and European House.” We’ll continue our look at them this week. By the 1860s, the hotel business in the city had begun in earnest. Upon buying the Chaffee House and renaming it, Brainard had quickly set about upgrading it to a first class establishment. There was competition. In April, 1861, the European House opened. One of the first ads said, “Conveniences are of the first class, and the hungry and the weary can obtain all needed refreshment, served up in a manner to please the most fastidious.” Besides the hotel, there was a store stocked with, “such articles as deemed suitable to the wants of this community”. The competition hurt the Brainard for several years. Then, Isaac Sanderson bought the hotel from Brainard, and ensured that it would again be the city’s leading hotel. He was said to be, “one of the few men who have the knack of running a hotel successfully and to the satisfaction of their patrons”. There were several stores in the hotel building and all advertised heavily. Gilman’s Ice Cream parlor was one. “Lunch rooms on European plan. Fruit and Confectionery of all kinds constantly on hand. A large stock of cigars and tobacco. Our pure Havana-filled Five Cent Cigars are the best in town. Try them. Domestic Bakery. Fresh bread, rolls and biscuit every afternoon. Pies and cakes made to order on short notice. Ornamental Wedding Cake made to order at a low price. Hot brown bread every morning including Sunday. None but first-class bakers employed. Fresh sweet milk by the quart. Milk brought in every morning and night. M.A. Gilman.” By 1870 the Brainard House had again regained prominence. For several years, it was the “go to” place for meetings, business trips, conventions and other gatherings. Then, in 1882, Seth C. Hooker found out that the Brainard House was for sale. It had again begun to deteriorate and so Hooker completely remodeled it. By 1885, Hooker could see that the building itself was in poor shape and in 1886 began work on his new Hooker House Hotel which opened in February, 1887. In 1892, the Brainard House was torn down to make way for the H.C. Murray building. Another reason for the Brainard House’s demise was the opening of “The Turner Block” across from it on Church Street. The block was a brick building built in 1877 to take advantage of Willimantic’s growing rail traffic and which housed a large number of stores and “The Commercial Hotel”. Albert Turner ran the hotel until 1891 when he sold it to George Challenger who renamed it “The Windham Hotel”. But a year later, Turner bought it back. The hotel never did fare that well and was once referred to as “Hotel de Cockroach”. It was sold and re-sold. It’s name was changed to “The Plaza Hotel” and then “The Irvin House”. Tom Beardsley says that,” In 1913, the Irvin House became “The Windham Lodging House” … and survived until 1928.” At that time, the upstairs was converted to apartments.
Backtracking a bit, last week we mentioned what, by 1848, had become known as “The Revere Hotel. By the 1880s, it had become Young’s Hotel and the spacious building was often used as a meeting place for various functions. It subsequently purchased by Edward Johnson and re-named “The Johnson House”. He billed it as “the home of the traveling man”. In January, 1915, it was almost completely gutted by a fire that had started in the nearby Natchaug Garage. Johnson rebuilt and advertised it as “newly furnished and up to date…telephones in all rooms”. But it never did regain its appeal and was torn down in 1926 as the site for the new Nathan Hale Hotel. A quick look at two more hotels will round out our story. From app. 1880 to 1903, there was a building in Sodom that was listed as a hotel but raided often due to illegal alcohol sales. Just before 1898, it was bought by Joseph Caillouette who turned it into “a boarding house or hotel with a saloon accompaniment” and renamed it “The Hawthorn”. After being badly damaged in a 1903 fire, it was torn down and a new building was put up that was soon to become “Cardinal’s Saloon”. Finally, a few people may remember the Park Central Hotel on Valley Street. It opened around 1920 but by the early 1960s had become more of a rooming house and was known mostly for the delicious spaghetti and meatball dinners cooked by Philomena Mastrangelo and Mary Menditto.