{"nrhp_refnum":"83004278","name":"Westlake Hotel","other_names":["The Westlake"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"19000 Lake Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Rocky River","county":"Cuyahoga County","state":"OH","lat":41.48387567100008,"lon":-81.83161333099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"An apartment hotel in the Spanish Colonial Revival style at 19000 Lake Road in Rocky River, Ohio, on the edge of the Rocky River Valley overlooking Lake Erie. It was built in the 1920s on the site of the earlier Silverthorne Inn.","why_significant":"The revised nomination argues eligibility under Criterion A for the hotel's link to tourism development and aviation along Lake Erie in the 1920s-1930s. It served as headquarters for the National Air Races held in Cleveland and hosted aviation celebrities. It was also described as the leading west side hotel of the period.","narrative":"Overlooking Lake Erie from the upper edge of the Rocky River Valley, this seven-story apartment hotel in Rocky River, Ohio, was designed by J. Harold MacDowell in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It replaced the Silverthorne Inn, which had occupied the site since 1815. Rough stucco walls, red brick details, sculptured ornament and red Spanish tile roofs define its look. A fire in 1957 destroyed the roofs and parapets, and a later remodeling removed shutters, awnings, balconies and vestibule windows. A 1983 rehabilitation, working with about 90 percent of the surviving original fabric, recreated those features. The hotel is recognized for its role in 1920s and 1930s tourism and aviation. Built near the Cleveland Municipal Airport, it served as headquarters for the National Air Races, and visitors included Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart and Richard Byrd. Bandleader Guy Lombardo played in its ballroom. It was the leading west side hotel of its era, and it now holds 168 apartments.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific date 1925)","architect_builder":"J. Harold MacDowell","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Occupied and privately owned; rehabilitation completed in spring 1983, recreating roofs, parapets, balconies, awnings and window ornamentation lost after a 1957 fire and remodeling. Now 168 apartments.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.117639-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/83004278.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004278/f7a721eba6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83004278/f7a721eba6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Cricchetti","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westlake_Hotel.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Cricchetti</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Westlake_Hotel.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71987949","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Westlake","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137584027"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/cuyahoga-county/westlake-hotel-83004278/"}