Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-10-24
CINCINNATI LETTER.
EntIng Houses-Hote1 properly.

The two things which have for a month
past occupied the minds of our citizens
the Exposition and the election, are over,
and time is now given for review. Both
were grand successes, one pecuniarily,
the other morally. The proceeds of the
Exposition were one hundred thousand
dollars, an amount little more than suf-
ticient to pay all expenses, those of final
supper included. The amount of money
brought to town and spent here was large.
Six times a hundred and fifty thousand
would be possibly a fair estimate Of
this amount the hotels got aliOn's share.
Next to them the eating houses prospered.
OF them the name is legion. Dining
rooms, during the rush of visitors sprung
up on all sides Private residences along
the thOrOfares flung out signs inviting the
public to dinner at the rate of fifteen
cents per head. -Four years ago there was
but one really first class dinning room in
town. At it you had to pay fifty cents for
a meal. When the suburban fever struck
the business men, and half Cincinnati
moved out on the various railroad lines,
then arose a demand for lunch rooms
where one could obtain light meal at a
small price. First the old Burnet House
opened the eyes of the public and almost
surprised itself by offering a regular din
ner for a quarter. The bait was eagerly
snapped at. 1t was a pronounced success.
Men who were accustomed to going home
at noon, found it as cheap to dine down
town and save the time. Then came the
cheap restaurants. Meals for ten cents
were offered, and in some localities, very
good ones too, LabOring men do not now
as a rule carry their dinners with them,
almost all buy their dinners. This is a
convenience and is also a good thing for
the labOrer. He can get all the variety
that the market affords, freshly cooked,
and that too, in a style which is likely to
be better than at home.
The hotels claim that these restaurants
are cutting on their business. Guests
take a room and room only, They get
their meals elsewhere and at rates to suit
themselves. There is one of the large
hotels which does not pretend to have a
culinary department, but depends entirely
on an adjoining restaurant, The prices
they charge for rooms makes up for this,
however. In the ownership of that prop
erty the Carlisle estate is more fortunate
than in the possession of some other hotel
property. Carlisle was one Of the capital
lists of Cincinnati in his day. The Madi-
son House was one of his investments, it
is down on Main street rear the river, and
was built when Main street was the bust
ness street and the steamboats, brought all
the strangers to town. In its day it was
a good investment. During the last
twenty-six months it has brought in as
rent, exactly one hundred and twenty
dollars. The taxes during that time
has been about thirteen hundred dollars
Another man with an elephant on his
hands in the way of hotel property in
that part Of town, is old fighting Gen.
Joe Hooker. He owns the Spencer House
splendid building in a bad location, on
the river front. 1t has not brought in
enough to pay the taxes since it was oc-
cupied by the late Constitutional Conven-
ton. Thus in Cincinnati as in New
York, old times are changing. Main
street above Fourth, has long ago seen its
most prosperous day and the tide is turn
ed north and west. Hotel property has
always been a favorite investment among
capitalists, perhaps because by giving his
name to an immense pile, the investor
hopes to perpetuate his own name Old
Peter Gibson, hard headed ScOtchman,
has the best property Of that kind in Gin
cinnati, now. He has about a quarter of
million invested. A history of his sue
cess, if rightly written, would be highly
entertaining and may, hereafter prove not
uninteresting even though told by
JUYENIs.