Hotel Fort Hayes
31-33 West Spring Street
Columbus, Ohio 43215
The undated photograph above I obtained from Columbus Public Library databases. The cars in the parking lot look like they're from the 1960's, so that about the time I place this photo. The undated postcard on the left I obtained from this website. The website states that all his postcards predate 1940, so I'm assuming it is from sometime before that.
This 14-story, 250-room hotel was opened on November 24, 1924. It didn't close until March 4, 1977. Just over a two months later, May 1977, the building was demolished.
Interesting tidbits about the Hotel include the fact that State Auditor Roger Tracy died at the Hotel after suffering a heart attack during a dinner in 1964. (1) Also, Prince Turki Faisel of Saudi Arabia held his first press-conference there during his tour of the American Midwest in 1966.(2)
The Hotel underwent a $1.4 million dollar renovation in 1972(3) and then purchased by Nationwide Life Insurance for $2 million in 1973.(4)
It's sad that this building is gone. From the photographs, a restored Hotel Fort Hayes would look a lot more interesting than the Courtyard by Marriott that now occupies the site.
The Columbus Library databases also had this undated photograph of the Crystal Room inside the Fort Hayes Hotel.
Current picture of the Courtyard by Marriott which sits at the site. It uses the address of 35 West Spring Street. The bus shelter is directly to the left of the hotel.
The new Courtyard by Marriott is a much smaller hotel. Only 5 stories containing 149 rooms. (5) The bus shelter was built in 1977, I'm assuming shortly after the Hotel Fort Hayes was torn down. I haven't been able to pin exactly when the Courtyard was built, the earliest date it is mentioned in on-line county records is 1992.
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