This is a postcard of Woodsdale as it appeared between 1907 and 1918. In the foreground are the trolley tracks that eventually ran thru what we now call Lovers Lane or the Pig Path. You are looking at the rear of the houses on lower Maple. Woodlawn Ave and the Trolley Station would be to the right of the fifth house. Goodwins, my grandparents, lived across from the Walkers whose house is sixth from the left.
Up on the hill, behind the houses is the Stratford Hotel. It was located just off of Edgwood Street. At the time ,it was one of the largest spas east of the Mississippi. It had 84 rooms, three sun parlors, two dining rooms, a spacious lobby, a tennis court, pool, and a billiard parlor. It had an on site power plant and a phone in each room.
One dining room seated 300 and was the site of many luncheons including one for the WVU football team. Invited guests included the Welty's, Speidels, Eckharts, Hazletts, McLures and Franzheims. Lily List, the manager and Pres. of the Corp that owned the hotel was said to be the most beautiful woman in the city.
The hotel was popular with high society and it was cheaper for them to live there in the winter than heat their houses. They brought their own furnishings, enjoyed delicious meals, drank the spa water, and best of all....enjoyed the many masked balls held there. It cost $15 a week for a suite.
On January 13th, 1918 a spark from a gasoline engine in the ice department set waste nearby on fire. The fire spread quickly, but there was little that the fire department could do as they only had one steamer to supply the hoses and the water froze as it hit the building. Ms. Meek, who taught many of us English at Triadelphia told me that she watched the fire from her bedroom and her father went to help fight the fire. No lives were lost, but the building was a total loss.
I have much more information about the hotel and the springs. If you are interested, feel free to contact me, but be prepared to write a post for this blog spot in exchange.
Oh, and by the way the correct spelling is Edgwood Street...it is a combination of the names Edgington and Wood, the families that owned the properties originally .
AHH . Stratford Hotel. I remember as a kid going up the hill to "ruins" with Mom and looking for any treasures . . remember finding some glass and an old fork or such . . Hotel had to have been awesome for its time and did hear the fire was "watched by many". Over the years E has always been slipped into Edgwood . . . nice to know after 60+ years the reason for the name.
ReplyDeleteThanks - enjoyed the photo and blurb.
We've lived on Edgwood for 5 years & always assumed it was spelled wrong! Fabulous post, thank you!
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