From JOURNAL-GAZETTE December 1896 Page 13

Found in the Souvenir Edition

NEW COMMERIAL HOTEL - Located at the corner of Main and Mulberry Streets.

As if in conformity with the eternal fitness of things, Logan hotels present a rugged external appearance, like the surrounding hills and are like the hill in another respect, their true worth is not appreciated until one gets within. While it is true Logan cannot boast of a hotel built after fine architectural designs and of imposing uphauled and modernized. Being a hotel man experienced in catering to first class trade, he furnished the house in a manner commensurate with what patrons of high-class hotel would expect. The rooms are large airy and well furnished, the house has been renovated and newly painted and papered in all its parts, the public rooms are large, comfortably furnished in every detail that adds to the comfort and convenience of their patrons. The lady's parlor is something more than comfortable, it is also elegant. That other necessary accessory of every good hotel.

A first-class cuisine had not been overlooked by the management. Though only five months in the business here, the reputation of the house, in this respect, is already extremely high. It is said, indeed, that it has few equals and no superiors along the lines of the "Buckeye Route", between Columbus and the Ohio river, in regard to the viands that go on their tables. One does not need to be informed on seating themselves in the dining room that cleanliness is one of the inexorable rules of the house, everything suggests it from the snow-white linen on the tables to the tidy waiters that serve the meals. All the dependents in the house are courteous in a high degree, in this particular, Proprietor Whitmer, sets a shining example. He had the tact of making the patrons of his house feel at home, something that is appreciated by travelers who know scarcely any other home. The house is lighted by electricity and heated by natural gas and is situated near the business art of the city. Travelers who are only satisfied with the beat obtainable will make no mistake if they hang up their hat with the host, Whitmer.