Photo courtesy of Jack T. Ericson

Did you know that Lakewood was a prime destination for vacation travelers during Chautauqua Lake’s resort hotel era that spanned the period from about the 1870s to the 1920s. One such hotel was The Kent House. Actually, there were two. The first Kent House was built in 1875 by Alba Kent along Terrace Avenue at the foot of Lakeview and New York avenues. She managed it successfully and sold it in 1880 to Ernest Frisbee, who continued to maintain the hotel’s high standards. However, in 1887, an accident in the kitchen started a fire that destroyed the hotel. Frisbee immediately began construction on the second Kent House on a grander scale — 250 guest rooms; 100 more than in the first Kent House. Ownership changed hands during the 1890s and business at the hotel began to decline around 1900. Shortly thereafter, around 1903, the hotel closed, was boarded up and ultimately demolished in 1916. Pictured is the second Kent House.