George William Doerzbach, General Contractor

G. William Doerzbach is pictured above with a youngster and dog in an undated picture. Mr. Doerzbach was born in Sandusky in 1852 to Christopher and Louisa Doerzbach, both natives of Germany. Hewson Peeke wrote in A Standard History of Erie County (Lewis Publishing, 1916), that “G. William Doerzbach is a man who has largely been the architect of his own fortune.” As a youngster, he worked for the Western Union Telegraph Company. His first trade was cabinet maker, and then he became a carpenter. Eventually he studied in Philadelphia under a leading architect. When he returned to Sandusky, he worked as a general contractor. 

In 1894, G.W. Doerzbach built a bridge crossing Mills Creek. An article in the December 24, 1894 issue of the Sandusky Register reported about the new bridge.

After working independently for several years, he formed a partnership with his brother Fred C. Doerzbach in 1900. Together G.W. Doerzbach and Brother built many important buildings in Sandusky and beyond. The Sandusky Register of December 31, 1922 describes several of their projects:

The Hotel Rieger was built by the Doerzbach brothers in 1911.

Right across the street from Hotel Rieger, G.W. Doerzbach and Brother built the Sandusky Star Journal building (now occupied by the Sandusky Register) from 1920 to 1921:

Now home to Bailey Legal Group, this Market Street building was originally built by the Doerzbachs as Third National Exchange Bank:

Mr. Doerzbach never married. His office and home were located at the corner of Monroe and Camps Streets.

Image courtesy Google Maps

George William Doerzbach died in 1932, and his brother and business partner, Fred C. Doerzbach died in 1934. Both were buried in Sandusky’s Oakland Cemetery. Though the Doerzbach brothers have been gone for decades, many buildings in Sandusky still stand as a testament to their excellent workmanship as general contractors.

The Three Sons of Mr. and Mrs. John Rieger

Pictured above are the three sons of John L. and Mary (Biehl) Rieger, in a photograph taken by C.W. Platt. Standing is Edward F. Rieger, born in 1882. Seated on the left is Walter Rieger, born in 1883. Youngest son Pierre Rieger, who was born in 1886, is seated in the chair. John Rieger was a pioneer resident of Sandusky. He had a shoe business on Hancock Street in the 1870s and he founded the Hotel Rieger in 1912. 

Another picture of the boys was taken at a later date. 

You can see that same portrait of the young Rieger boys in the family’s parlor in the picture below.

Edward F. Rieger died in an accidental fall from the fourth floor of the Hotel Rieger in 1921, when he was only 39 years old. Pierre Rieger died after a brief illness on January 30, 1951. Both Edward and Pierre Rieger were involved in the management of the Hotel Rieger. Dr. Walter H. Rieger graduated from the University of Michigan as a medical doctor in 1906. Dr. Rieger was the house surgeon at the Manhattan Eye and Ear Infirmary in New York, and he was the visiting otolaryngologist at Fairview Park Hospital and St. Vincent’s Charity Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio; he was the last surviving member of his family at the time of his death on June 27, 1951. Mr. and Mrs. John Rieger and all their sons are buried in Block 94 of Oakland Cemetery. The Hotel Rieger, which played an important role in the lives of so many members of the Rieger family, is pictured below in 1927.

Matchbook Covers from Sandusky Businesses

Do you remember when you could grab a free book of matches on your way out of a restaurant or store?

Journalist and author Harry Van Stack donated several matchbook covers from Sandusky businesses to the Sandusky Library. The matchbooks were from five restaurants and a service station that were in operation primarily in the 1930s and 1940s in downtown Sandusky. The Boulevard Cafe can be seen in the picture below next to the Ohio Theatre on West Market Street in 1937.

In the 1931 photograph of downtown Sandusky, the Pelican Restaurant is on the west side of Columbus Avenue, just north of Rosino’s, and Martin’s is at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street.

Buckeye League Band and Orchestra Festival Held in Sandusky in 1938

Bands from Sandusky High School, Fremont Ross, Tiffin Columbian, and Findlay High School all participated in a parade in Sandusky on May 6, 1938, to kick off the Buckeye League Band and Orchestra Festival. Pictured above is the Sandusky High School band marching north down Decatur Street. 

The school name of Fremont is spelled out on the tubas in the Fremont Ross band, seen below.

   

The majorette and members of the Tiffin Columbian drum corps wore conservative uniforms, typical of fashions in the 1930s.

                                         

Though this picture is not very sharp, you can see the retail shops on the street level of the Hotel Rieger, as the parade goes by.

The Sandusky Community Music Festival included a series of events between May 6 and May 12. Participants in the music festival included the Buckeye League Orchestra, the Buckeye League Bands, the Sandusky Male Chorus, the Sandusky Choral Society, Grace Church Choir, and the Senior High Choir and Choruses. The May 7, 1938 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that an estimated crowd of nine hundred listened to the Buckeye League Bands at the concert given at Jackson Junior High School on May 6.  Tickets for the entire musical series were sold for one dollar each.

Lower Lake Dock Company Dinner at the Hotel Rieger in 1928

On February 11, 1928, several members of management and staff of the Lower Lock Dock Company met for a dinner at the Hotel Rieger in Sandusky. The celebratory dinner was held in honor of the crews who staffed Heyl and Patterson dumpers at the Lower Lake Docks in Sandusky. 

On May 6 and 7, 1927, 1254 coal cars of the Pennsylvania Railroad were unloaded, resulting in 73,987 tons of coal being dumped. This feat broke all previous unloading records at the dock.

The invited guests were treated to a dinner of steak and baked potatoes with all the trimmings. 

At that time, C.H. Hampe was the superintendent of the company. He would go on to have a career that spanned over fifty years of dock service, having worked in Ashtabula and Sandusky. In 1950, officials of the Lower Lake Dock Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad honored Mr. Hampe with a celebration of his fifty years of service by hosting a party in his honor at the Odd Fellows Hall. 

Now the company formerly known as the Lower Lake Dock Company is owned by Norfolk Southern and is operated by the Sandusky Dock Corporation. This firm still uses equipment made by Heyl and Patterson. To see more pictures of the coal docks, see a previous post at Sandusky History’s website.

Small Bits of History on Sandusky’s Historic Buildings

The symbols, initials, and acronyms that can be seen on Sandusky’s older buildings provide us with clues to the historic past of our community.

The Sandusky Register building was originally built for the Star Journal, as evidenced by the initials SJ seen on the top corner of the building.

A series of Rs border the upper level of the Rieger Lofts help us remember the Rieger family.

When John Rieger opened the Hotel Rieger at the southeast corner of Jackson and Market Streets in Sandusky in 1912, it was Sandusky’s first “fireproof” hotel.

The letters I.O.O.F. and globe that are seen on the corners of the Odd Fellows Temple on Washington Row remind us that the building was first built for the fraternal organization known as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Sandusky’s Odd Fellows building was dedicated on March 18, 1890. Several attorneys and businesses are now located in the I.O.O. F. building on Washington Row in downtown Sandusky. Through the years, several other businesses have been in operation at the street level of the Odd Fellows Temple on Washington Row.

The building now home to Calvary Temple was constructed in the 1920s for the Commercial Banking and Trust Company.

The group of layered letters above the door on the west side of Calvary Temple feature the beginning letters of the words Commercial Banking and Trust Company.  The bank did not survive the Great Depression.

On the north side of Adams Junior High School, which opened in 1869 as Sandusky High School, is a trefoil and an equilateral triangle, which is a traditional Christian symbol that represents the Trinity.

Take note of the interesting architectural details found on the historic buildings in Sandusky and Erie County. Lots of history can be learned by observing closely the fine details in the buildings you may walk by every day.

Views of Market Street Looking East from Jackson

                 

This postcard of Market Street, looking east from Jackson Street, was created in the 1920s. E.B. Ackley’s billiard parlor is on the north side of West Market Street, adjacent to Jackson. You can see the marquee of the Schade Theatre, which later became the Ohio Theatre. In the distance, the Cooke building is visible at the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Market Street. The Hotel Rieger building (which recently opened as an apartment building, the Rieger Lofts) is on the south side of West Market Street, just opposite the Star Journal building, which now is home to the Sandusky Register. Going east down Market Street, the Third National Bank is next to the Hotel Rieger. A sign advertising an auto supply store is visible, just west of the old city building, with its two towers. In the distance you can see the Feick building, a tall structure on the south side of East Market Street. A variety of offices and small businesses are found all along Market Street, on the street level as well as on upper floors. The Hotel Rieger featured some businesses which were below street level. Below is a view of Market Street in a picture that was taken between 1890 and 1910.

The Manhattan clothing store is located where Mr. Ackley later had his billiards parlor. Dr. Nicholson had his dental office above the Manhattan store. The Hotel Rieger and Star Journal buildings had not yet been constructed, but the Cooke building and former city hall can still be seen. Street cars and horse drawn vehicles were the mode of transportation at this time, instead of the autmobiles seen in the postcard above. You can see several other images of Market Street at the Sandusky History blog by clicking on this link.

Barber Shops in Sandusky

According to the July 1888 issue of the Firelands Pioneer, the first barber shop in Sandusky was operated by Grant Ritchie, an African American who was also active in the Underground Railroad in the Sandusky area, a network of individuals who aided fugitive slaves find their way to freedom in Canada. In the 1850s, most of the barber shops in Sandusky were in the downtown area of the city. Though the picture below is not in color, the J. and F. Bock Barber Shop, located at 812 Water Street in 1886, featured the familiar red, white, and blue pole in front of the shop. The red and white pole (with blue usually added in American poles) has long been a symbol of the barber’s trade.

The 1902 Sandusky City Directory listing for barber shops included the names of thirty three barbers. Harry Parker’s barber shop was in the Sloane House hotel at that time. In the first part of the twentieth century, several hotels in Sandusky had their own barber shops for the convenience of their guests. Barbershops were found in the West House, Commercial Hotel, Murschel House, Hotel Rieger, the Wayne Hotel and the Hotel Breakers at Cedar Point. Below is a photograph of Jerry McMahon’s barber shop in the Hotel Rieger about 1935. Jerry McMahon is on the right. The other barbers in the picture are: Bill Foley, Chet Martin, and Bill Wells. Charles Alexander, in the back of the shop, worked as a shoeshine porter.

John Martin Luipold worked as a barber in Sandusky for over sixty years. In this picture of his barber shop on Hayes Avenue in 1915, you can see a wooden rack holding the shaving  mugs of several of his regular customers.

Today, Sandusky still has several traditional barber shops, though some hair styling businesses cater to both male and female customers. The Acme Barber Shop on Columbus Avenue (below, in 1922) has operated under various owners since 1901.

To read more about the history of barbers in Sandusky, see Article 40 in volume two of From the Widow's Walk, by Helen Hansen and Virginia Steinemann.

A Look Back at the Hotel Rieger

The Hotel Rieger was opened by businessman John Rieger at the southeast corner of Jackson and Market Streets in downtown Sandusky in 1912. (The former hotel is now undergoing renovations in order to provide affordable housing units for area seniors.) The postcard pictured above shows the fifth floor addition which increased the room count of the hotel. In the postcard, you can see the former Third National Bank building on the east side of the hotel, and to the south of the hotel is the Odd Fellows Temple. The image below shows the hotel in 1917, before its expansion.

In this postcard below, from the Rich-Holt Company, the Hotel Rieger is pictured along with the Sloane House and the Boy with the Boot fountain in Sandusky’s Washington Park.

The picture below was taken in the lobby of the Hotel Rieger in 1926, shortly after renovations had been made to the hotel.

The Buckeye League Band marched past the Jackson Street entrance of the Hotel Rieger in the 1930s.

This picture shows an improved entrance at the Hotel Rieger in 1942.

According to an article in the October 17, 2004 issue of the Sandusky Register, Kermit Price bought the Hotel Rieger in 1964, and converted it to the Sandusky Nursing Home. The nursing home closed in 1989, and in 1992, Mr. Price reopened the building as the Sanduskian Hotel.. The building was sold in 1995. Since then the property has had several different owners, and currently the former hotel is under renovation by The Douglas Company. To read more about the history of hotels in Sandusky, read the StreetWise column, Hotels Rotated through Downtown Sandusky, which appeared in the July 13, 2013 issue of the Sandusky Register.