PHOENIX BUILDING (EUTERPEAN HALL)
Built in 1849 by W.H. Caswell, the Phoenix building was so named because it “rose from the ashes” of an earlier building that had burned.
The limestone building featured brackets along the roof line and decorative detailing between the brackets. Stone lintels and sills adorned the plain cut stone façade. The store fronts had cast iron columns and detailing.
Euterpean Hall, a theater that seated 600, was located on the upper floor. The name was derived from Euterpe, the muse of music in Greek mythology. The hall was used for music, dancing and lectures. On December 16, 1854, the famous nineteenth-century reformer Horace Greeley gave a lecture there. The Sandusky Register of December 18, 1854 reported “The speaker appeared in his usual spirits and delivered his sound and suggestive lecture in his usual way. Mr. G. makes no pretentions to oratory, but in his sterling thought, philosophical analysis of character and keen insight in principles of action, he affords the hearer much food for after reflection.” In 1855 P. T. Barnum, the founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, appeared at the Euterpean Hall.
The Sandusky Library has a great history of the Hall HERE:
Through the years, under various owners including Rush R. Sloane, Leo Finkler, John Nichols, and Gary and Jackie Finger, offices, apartments and stores occupied the premises. The building was demolished in 2015.