The Rear of the Former Gould Hotel – Viewed from Mynderse Street, Seneca Falls, New York

The Gould Hotel opened in February 1920 on the site of the Hoag House which had burned on Thanksgiving morning, 1918. That fire had been discovered in the basement and by noon the building had been a total loss and nearly all of the equipment in the hotel had been destroyed.

This new Gould Hotel was described in the Syracuse Journal as "the most complete and perfectly equipped of the smaller hotels of New York State. Four stories in height, absolutely fireproof in construction and equipped in perfect taste and convenience, it is scheduled to become the mecca for travelers and autoists between Rochester and Syracuse." A postcard from the time describes it as "the gateway to the beautiful Finger Lakes region."

The plans provided for a building of four floors, with a main entrance on State Street. Stores would be located on the Fall Street side of the building. The new hotel building was of concrete and steel construction throughout. The door and window sills and the picture moldings were the only things of the building itself that could burn. In addition to the large lobby, the double dining rooms and a well arranged kitchen, the hotel itself had 72 rooms and 8 apartments. Fifty of the rooms were equipped with baths, including hot and cold water, and telephone connections. The guest rooms had a mahogany dresser, desk, straight and rocker chairs, and portable and fixed lamps. The Simmons’ bed had fine hair mattresses.

The dining rooms were so arranged that they could be one big room for banquets or separate so that one could be used as a ball room and the other for dining. The dining room décor was colonial in style, with the walls painted café au lait and ivory white ceilings and Windsor mahogany chairs and tables.

The lobby had a Spanish style appearance, with the furniture covered with heavy morocco leather. Heavy rugs covered the lobby floor, with table and floor lamps adding a quiet but luxurious feeling. The walls were finished in imitation Caen Stone and velour drapes.

The Gould Hotel eventually closed and the building was turned into apartments. It subsequently sat vacant for quite some time before reopening as the Hotel Clarence.