Hotel Kunzmann

The Hotel Kunzmann was operated by August C. Kunzmann, a native of Baden, Germany. August C. Kunzmann emigrated to the United States in 1879. When he first settled in Sandusky, he worked at the carriage shop of his uncle, who was named August K. Kunzmann. In 1882, August C. Kunzmann married Katie Link. Kunzmann’s Hotel was located at 125 and 127 Jackson Street in the late 1880s. A listing in the 1888-89 Sandusky City Directory indicated that fresh lager was always on tap, and the hotel provided "excellent accommodation and reasonable rates."

By 1898, the Hotel Kunzmann moved to 627, 629 and 631 Water Street, down the block from Fisher’s Hall. At this time the hotel featured modern improvements such as electric lights and hot water heating.

A popular drink at the Hotel Kunzmann was a large glass of beer, sold for five cents, known as the “high ball.” 

August C. Kunzmann died of pneumonia on March 14, 1905, at the age of 51. He was survived by his wife and four children. For a time after his death, Mrs. Kunzmann ran the hotel, and later non-family members took over management. An article in the October 11, 1919 issue of the Sandusky Star Journal reported that the Riccelli Cone and Candy Company had recently leased the three story building that was once the Hotel Kunzmann.  

You can read more about life in Sandusky at the time the Hotel Kunzmann was in business. Mrs. Katherine "Katie" Kunzmann collected newspaper clippings about prominent people and events that took place in Sandusky, Ohio between 1898 and 1919. This scrapbook has been microfilmed and can be viewed at the Sandusky Library Archives Research Center.