Franklin Hotel (Kent, Ohio)
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Franklin Hotel
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Front in October 2013
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Location in the state of Ohio
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| Location | 176 E. Main St., Kent, Ohio |
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| Coordinates | 41°9′12″N 81°21′34″W / 41.15333°N 81.35944°W |
| Built | 1919–20 |
| Architect | H.L. Stevens |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| NRHP Reference # | 12000802 |
| Added to NRHP | January 18, 2013 |
Acorn Corner, historically known as the Franklin Hotel, is a six-story historic building in Kent, Ohio, United States, listed on the National Register of Historic Places since January 2013. Construction started in 1919 and the hotel opened in September 1920. The hotel was also known as the Hotel Kent and later the Hotel Kent-Ellis. Locally it is often referred to as the "old Kent hotel", "Kent Hotel", or the "old hotel". The building functioned as a hotel until the early 1970s when it was converted for use as student housing. The upper four floors were condemned in 1979, though the bottom floors housed a number of small businesses until 2000.
After several years of total vacancy and nearly being demolished multiple times in the 2000s, the building was purchased in late 2011 by local developer Ron Burbick and renamed Acorn Corner to compliment his adjacent Acorn Alley development. Work also began on a complete $6.5 million renovation and restoration of the building, which included construction of a new elevator shaft. The renovated building, hailed as a "Kent miracle", opened in April 2013 and had a grand opening in May. Its anchor tenant is Buffalo Wild Wings, and also includes a wine bar, offices, and apartments.
The structure, designed by architect H.L. Stevens, is an example of the Neoclassical Revival style. It includes five above-ground levels and a partially exposed basement. It was nominated under National Register Criteria A and B, due to its connections with significant events and developments in local history and important people in the history of Kent.
The movement to build a new hotel in Kent was started in the early 20th century and was initiated and carried out by the Kent Board of Trade, now known as the Kent Chamber of Commerce. While the village had two places of lodging, neither was very large. The previous hotel, the Revere Hotel, closed in 1899, and business leaders felt a larger, modern hotel was needed to meet the demands of growing industries, railroad travelers, and the emerging Kent State Normal College. The idea was that of Dudley Mason, the owner of Mason Tire and Rubber in Kent. The drive to fund the hotel through the selling of stock began March 24, 1919. During this time, the Board of Trade also sponsored a naming contest in the local Kent Courier newspaper, where the "Franklin Hotel" name ultimately came from, named after the previous name for Kent, Franklin Mills.
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