The Phillips House is the subject of this week's update to the popular Then & Now photo feature, which explores past and present views of notable Dayton locations.
Construction began two years earlier, and the establishment was named after H.G. Phillips, “one of the oldest and wealthiest citizens of the community,” according to a story written by Howard Burba for the Dayton Daily News in 1932.
“The opening of the Phillips House this evening promises to be the most brilliant which has ever been witnessed in Dayton,” reported the newspaper “A cotillion band composed of 15 pieces has been engaged in Cincinnati.”
Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln stayed in the hotel for a few hours to spruce up before Lincoln gave a speech across the street at the courthouse in 1859.
» READ MORE: When Abraham Lincoln spoke at the old courthouse
The Fifth Third Center now sits at the southwest corner of Main and Third streets in downtown Dayton where the hotel once stood.
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