In January 1889, a grand hotel opened its doors in downtown Oxford on Washington St., just north of Burdick.
It was called ‘The Oakland,? although it would later come to be known as both ‘The Oakland House? and ‘The Oakland Hotel.?
The Oakland was described as ‘one of the finest country hotels in Michigan? by the Pontiac Bill Poster in 1889. ‘It is thoroughly furnished and fitted in every way,? according to the newspaper.
Many years after she ceased to be a hotel, the grand old dame was demolished in May 1971 and turned into a parking lot, which today sits between the Healthy Smile Center (9 N. Washington St.) and Sisters? Hair Care (19 N. Washington St.).
But thanks to local developer Chuck Schneider, a reincarnation of The Oakland ? complete with all its glorious Queen Ann Architecture ? may soon live again and once more be a proud landmark in downtown Oxford.
At the Oct. 5 Oxford Beautification Awards ceremoney, Schneider, who owns the parking lot where the hotel once stood, unveiled a concept plan to construct a three-story, 15,000-square-foot building on the vacant site. He plans to call his new building ‘The Oakland? and use elements of Queen Anne Architecture to give the exterior an historic look and feel designed to blend with Oxford’s vintage downtown.
‘The idea is to recreate or replicate the original building as close as possible to the way it looked back then,? Schneider said. ‘Having buildings that are in harmony with the community is important. If the building doesn’t blend well with the dowtown, it becomes sort of an ugly duckling. You want to try to build something that doesn’t interrupt the pattern of the community’s architecture. You want it to all flow nicely together.?
Schneider worked closely with the Northeast Oakland Historical Society and its most prominent and knowledgable member, Mildred Schmidt, to track down old photographs of the former hotel and newpaper articles concerning it.
A Queen Anne-style house Schneider located in Dryden is serving as a design aid/model to provide the architectural details photographs cannot.
Despite its proposed outward resemblance to the original Oakland, Schneider’s new building will not be a hotel like its namesake. The Dryden-based developer said the first floor will be used as either retail, service or office space, while the second and third floors will be strictly office space.
‘Could be a restaurant. Could be a store. Could be a bank. Could be any number of things,? Schneider said of the first floor. Each floor will consist of approximately 5,000 square feet and the interior will be designed with the ‘flexibility? to accomodate whomever decides to lease the various spaces, he said.
On Oct. 13, Schneider submitted his plans for the new building to the village planning commission. He will mostly likely have to go before the village ZBA to obtain a variance regarding the height of the building.
‘If everything falls into place fairly quickly,? Schneider said the new Oakland could be completed ‘at this time next year.?