Then and Now #1 - The Strand Hotel

📍The Strand Hotel, located at 712 Clay Street has been a staple of the downtown area for over 100 years🏙️. The site was originally occupied by the Luella Hotel🏨 which was razed in 1924 for the construction🏗️ of the current building. The Strand Hotel was originally 3-stories tall. Over time the building has seen a number of alterations, including two additional floors that bring the Strand to its current height. The building has also seen a variety of changes to its ornamentation such as the details along the roofline and cornice, visible in the "Then" image🖼️. Since the early 2000s the Strand Hotel has served as apartments along with the attached building, the Strand Cafe☕, once the site of the Luella Theater🎭. The building was donated to the city in June of 2022 by its previous owner and as of August of 2025 is owned by Nathan Zabka.

Historic Photo from Livingston County Library archives via Downtown Chillicothe Historic Tour website. Current picture courtesy of J.T. Baysinger June 18, 2025.