The Steel Hotel
by Barry Bauer
Judging by the automobiles in the street I would guess this photo was taken in the 1930s.
Besides renting rooms and having a ball room upstairs this hotel featured store front businesses. There was a bus stop on the N. W. corner of Higham St. and Clinton Ave. It was also a barbershop, but I’m not sure they were there at the same time.
The next store front advertised the Hotel plus a restaurant that served beer. That dated this photo after Prohibition which ended in 1933. This space was also a news stand in the 60s.
The next store front was a barber shop, owner unknown, followed by the Western Auto store. The last store front was the City Bakery.
Rumor has it that the Hotel bar is still stored in a building downtown having been taken out before the fire destroyed the Hotel in 1975.