If you were looking for a place to lodge in the Sylvania area in the 1800's, you would have been lucky to book a room at the Bidwell .
The Bidwell Exchange Hotel was located on the northwest corner of Main Street and Maplewood Avenue (then known as the well-traveled Territorial Road, the first road heading westward to Chicago in northern Ohio). It was the epicenter of the Sylvania social scene and hosted many community events. Eventually, it was sold to Victor M. Burg and became The Hotel Victor. Unfortunately, it was lost to a major fire that destroyed the hotel as well as a lumberyard and several houses on March 28, 1915.