Revere House
Springfield Journal Register, date of paper which originally published the following is unknown.
WOODCUT OF OLD REVERE HOUSE AT 4TH AND WASHINGTON --
Remember the old Revere House on the northwest corner of 4th and Washington? This interesting
woodcut of about 1890 gives a fairly good idea of how it looked in that period. It was a
real landmark of its kind. The Revere House was built about 1866 or 1867 bya well-known pioneer citizen,
Joel Johnson, who operated it for many years. Following his death, his son, Maj. E. S. Johnson, conducted the hotel until
about the middle 90's, when he became custodian of the Lincoln Tomb. It then
deteriorated into a rooming house and was razed sometime in the 1930's. In its heyday, the Revere
House was an excellent hotel and many fine people lived there. On the main floor was the big hotel lobby,
with balconies leading off into the second floor - also "sample rooms" where traveling salesmen could display their
wares. On the Washington Street side, there were a few store rooms as well. In the era of the Johnson, the
Revere House was a social center and many pretentious events were staged there. It is of interest
to note that before building the Revere House, Joel Johnson had operated the old City Hotel, predecessor of the
Chenery House, across the street, east.
Submitted by: Jeanie Lowe.
Index