The luxurious five-story Reed hotel attracted guests from all over the United States, including Buffalo Bill Cody. It sat right in the middle of Erie's commercial district, on the corner of North Park Row and French Street. Check out this description of the Reed House:
"The building is pressed brick, with stone, iron and terra cotta towers at each corner and in the center of the north and south fronts. The structure is in the form of a hollow square, thus securing an abundance of light and air to every room in the house, which is traversed by broad corridors running the entire length and breadth. Splendid staircases connect the various stories, and a fine passenger and baggage elevator enables guests to reach their rooms quickly and with little exertion. ....
[Comment from a reader of the site:]
This was actually the last of the Reed Hotels on that spot. Seems they had a problem with fires. The best known of the 19th century hotels in Erie were the series of Reed hostelries that occupied the northeast corner of French St. and North Park Row. Rufus Reed was a member of a pioneering family and built a small hotel around 1796. The Mansion House, which he erected on the park in 1826, was considered one of the finest hotels of its day. Ironically, Reed was instrumental in forming Erie's first fire company, but it could not save the Mansion House, which succumbed to flames in 1839. Reed replaced it with another. That building, too, burned in 1864. This time his son, Charles Reed took up the challenge and erected a large 4 story building in Italianette style. Eight years later, this too (shown after the fire in the photo) would go up in flames. The final Reed House creation (shown in the photo) was that of Rufus' grandson, Charles M. Reed. It was completed in 1875. It essentially retained the wall treatment of the former building, but was now w 5 stories high through the addition of a mansard roof, and doubled the number of rooms to 200. It was also fireproofed, and had the reputation of being one of the leading hotels between New York and Chicago. It survived into the 20th century, but by then the city's business district had moved well south of the park. The contents of the Reed House, including bronze statues, tapestries, and a $50,000 art collection were auctioned off in September of 1933 and the building was demolished shortly thereafter. ( As a side note: Rufus Reed also opened Erie's first distillery, on 5th & Parade...where he devised a hollow stick that enabled him to sell it by the yard to the Native Americans. The law strictly forbade he sale of liquor to Native Americans by the gill (4 0z.), quart or barrel,. Reed skirted the law with his hollow device. Rufus Reed also opened a store, traded furs, secured large government contracts to to supply Western military posts with beef, pork flour, and whiskey. He also was half owner of the The Good Intent, which was the first vessel launched in Erie in 1799, and by the time he died, he owned an extensive fleet of lake vessels.)