Central Hotel, Hackedorn and Zimmerman Building
Also known as: Ritchey House Hotel; Quay Building; Ritchey Building
Why it's listed
Three connected brick buildings on the southwest corner of Galion's public square form what the nomination calls the finest and earliest surviving commercial architecture in the city. The Central Hotel began in 1852 as a two-and-a-half-story inn, was enlarged to three stories in 1869 with a western addition, and gained rear wings in 1898. Next to it stand the Hackedorn Building, completed around 1865 and long home to a corner drug store, and the Zimmerman Building of 1874, with cast-iron storefront columns and bracketed cornices. The buildings are linked to the 1860s, when numerous railroads crossed Galion and brought trade that drove rapid downtown growth. The hotel reportedly offered 66 sleeping rooms and a 60-seat dining room. Its first floors were altered in the 1940s, and the hotel was sandblasted in 1972, but the upper stories keep much of their original Italianate character.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls these the most important and earliest remaining commercial buildings in Galion. They survive from the 1860s railroad-driven commercial boom, when many brick commercial buildings and hotels were built downtown. The data sheet describes them as fine examples of 19th-century commercial styles, in Italianate form.
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 76001386, listed November 13, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | SW corner of Harding Way E. and Market Sts., Galion |
|---|---|
| County | Crawford County |
| Listed | November 13, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76001386 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1852, 1865, 1874 (specific dates) |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Buildings in commercial use: hotel and shops in the Central Hotel, Quay Drug Store on the Hackedorn ground floor, and stores and apartments in the Zimmerman Building. The first floors have been altered. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 40.73353, -82.78985 (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 76001386.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q137633283
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.