Travelers Hotel
Why it's listed
Rising four stories on East Fourth Street in downtown East Liverpool, this brick hotel was built in stages: an original section about 1908 to designs by local architect Cassius Metsch, a rear wing about 1915, and a large western addition in 1927. The older stonework is blackened by smoke from the city's pottery kilns, while the 1927 section still looks pale, so the facade records the decline of the local pottery industry. Inside are a marble lobby desk and cage salvaged from a bank, a large dining room, and a bar with a ceramic sculpture of a potter. The hotel is valued as the last of many downtown hotels that served business travelers and theatergoers. It stood across from the Ceramic Theatre, hosted touring performers, and by the 1930s was the city's premier hotel. Pottery owners had a reserved round table, and buyers viewed local wares in its sample room.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues significance under criterion A as a major expression of East Liverpool's social and commercial heritage. It was the city's premier hotel by the 1930s and a center for social events and pottery business, including a pottery sample room and a reserved round table for pottery owners. It is the last remaining downtown hotel from a period when the city had many small hotels.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86001718, listed July 15, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 115 E. Fourth St., East Liverpool |
|---|---|
| County | Columbiana County |
| Listed | July 15, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86001718 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Cassius Metsch (1908 construction); builder unknown |
| Architectural style | No academic style |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Operating as a hotel with a dining room and bar; interior and exterior condition listed as good. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | East Liverpool Downtown Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.61819, -80.57987 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86001718.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7835994
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.