History

Detroit Pavilion Hotel

In 1832, Elnathan Wilcox built the Pavilion Hotel on the southwest corner of Main Street and Third Street.  Wilcox operated the hotel for four years until he sold the establishment to a man named Hyatt in 1836; Wilcox moved to Orleans County, New York.  Town and railroad meetings took place at the Pavilion because there was no town hall.  The Pavilion prided itself as being "home-like and comfortable" for guests.  There was also a stable for horses nearby and a barbershop located in the hotel.  Hyatt did not operate the hotel for long and sold it to John Fisher.  He changed the name of the hotel to the Fisher House in 1877; rooms were overhauled and repairs were made.  Fisher in turn sold the hotel to David Butts who operated it until the hotel burned down in late 1877.

R.O. Smith agreed to build a hotel provided that the village of Rochester donate the land.  The site of the old Pavilion was filled with debris and was considered quite an eyesore, a "disgrace and a reproach to the enterprise of our people."   Building commenced in June 1887 and when it was finished, the structure was a two-story brick building called a "tri-square."  The front part was located on Main Street and the back on Third Street.  The hotel included a billiard room, dining room, 19 bedrooms, 10 suites, and was christened the Sidney House, named after Smith's half brother.  The Sidney opened to the public in February 1888 with a banquet dinner to celebrate.  In 1894, Frank Andrews bought the hotel.  Andrews made the thirty room, two-story brick hotel modern.  There were bathrooms built for both men and women, which were "heated by a furnace and supplied with both hot and cold water."  It was said that the hotel was "one of the best equipped hotels in the state."  It was well lit and also heated.  The landlord of the hotel was E.E. Robson; both Robson and his wife made the guests feel at home. 

By February 1895, William Bowman took charge along with his brother and became proprietors of the establishment.  On February 15, 1895, the Sidney House was re-christened the Detroit Hotel.  Two furnaces were installed and five plate glass windows were added along with other repairs.  The Detroit Hotel officially opened to the public on March 1, 1895 with a reception of dancing, music, and games.  The hotel held meetings for the Oakland County Fruit Growers and also sponsored visiting dentists, allowing dental check-ups right in the hotel.  In January 1896, the hotel advertised in the Rochester Era that it installed two new public bathrooms for both ladies and gentlemen.  The Detroit Hotel was operated for fifty years until it was tragically destroyed by fire in 1927.  Today, the Hermitage Gallery occupies the site.