{"nrhp_refnum":"97001564","name":"Fountain Hotel, The","other_names":["The Fort Barbee Hotel","Aug-973-8"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100-110 W. Spring St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"St. Marys","county":"Auglaize County","state":"OH","lat":40.54292723700007,"lon":-84.38874012599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-12-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick Commercial Queen Anne hotel building at 100-110 West Spring Street in downtown St. Marys, Auglaize County, Ohio, completed in 1889 with a twelve-room rear addition in 1895.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the hotel is significant under Criterion A for commerce. It reflects St. Marys' commercial and industrial boom after oil and gas were discovered in 1886. Few surviving buildings show the power of that boom as well as this one.","narrative":"Built in 1889 on Spring Street in downtown St. Marys, this three-story brick hotel took its name from a large artesian well, \"The Fountain,\" that lies beneath it. Three local partners each put up $10,000 to build it as one of the finest hotels in northwestern Ohio, with electric call bells, hot and cold baths and gas lighting. A fountain in the dining room was fed from the basement spring, which also supplied water to the whole building. A twelve-room addition followed in 1895, and kitchen, electricity and central heating were added in 1903. In 1923 it was renamed the Hotel Fort Barbee, and it operated as a hotel until 1996. Its Commercial Queen Anne design features engaged piers with cast iron rosettes, segmental-arched windows and corbelled rooflines. The building is recognized for its link to the oil and gas boom that transformed St. Marys' commerce and industry after 1886.","period_of_significance":"1889-1947","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Victorian/Queen Anne (Commercial Queen Anne)","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Operated as a hotel until 1996; the form lists current function as work in progress. Storefronts have been altered, but the west commercial space retains much original interior fabric.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:52:07.210743-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/97001564.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001564/7ce75590ce-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97001564/7ce75590ce-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Fountain_Hotel_in_St._Marys.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Fountain_Hotel_in_St._Marys.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986777","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_Hotel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5474735"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/auglaize-county/fountain-hotel-the-97001564/"}