2026-06-15T12:35:46+00:00 Zend_Feed_Writer https://shenandoahstories.org/ Shenandoah Stories https://shenandoahstories.org 2017-10-06T21:07:57+00:00 2022-07-21T19:37:59+00:00 https://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/269 The Shenandoah Stories Team The 1885 Lake's Atlas of Shenandoah and Page Counties notes the "Shenandoah House" stood on this site. It would have served travelers on the Valley Turnpike and from the nearby rail line. Sometime in the last decade of the 19th century/first decade of the 20th century the Holtzman family purchased the structure and renamed it the Hotel Holtzman. It was one of many such businesses they operated in several county towns. In 1907 the Shenandoah Herald reported it was one of the last two bars operating in the Town of Woodstock. The Holtzman Hotel's bar would operate until alcohol was outlawed in 1907. At the time the Shenandoah Herald reported only it and the Holtzman Hotel across the street were operating bars. It, and the Geary Hotel across the street generated over $500 annually in town liquor taxes so their business must have been brisk. Lawyers representing the two businesses fought efforts to outlaw alcohol, but they were unsuccessful. The "dry" won by one vote. On September 26, 1916 the Holtzman Hotel was the site of an address by Lila Valentine, President of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. The Shenandoah Herald noted it was an "excellent address" and would have been designed to promote the women's suffrage movement in Shenandoah County. The hotel would operate into the 1920s when it was purchased by the Dalke Family. They opened the Uptown Theater here and rented commercial space in the front to a barbershop. After the Dalke's opened the Community Theater two blocks away the Uptown Theater primarily showed westerns and other cheaper films. In 1947 a fire heavily damaged the building and it was demolished. In 1974 Shenandoah County purchased this land and built a new circuit court house here. For more (including 2 images), view the original article. 2017-01-05T20:32:03+00:00 2019-07-09T17:00:31+00:00 https://shenandoahstories.org/items/show/137 The Shenandoah Stories Team Sometime during the first decades of the 20th century, this rubble-style building was constructed overlooking the Shenandoah River just south of what is now called the “Narrow Passage.” The early history of this site is not well known. Some accounts indicate that a general store operated here in the 1870s. This would have been a part of the Willow Grove community, which once featured several stores, a train station, and two hotels. Today almost the entire community has disappeared. When the current structure was built, the owners of the property must have seen a need for a new rest stop and nightlife attraction along Route 11. They built this structure, complete with hotel rooms, restaurant, bar, and dance floor. The attraction that opened was named Dorothy’s Inn. Over the years, it developed a reputation for where people could enjoy its food, its alcohol, and where local men could find a “good broad.” When traffic patterns relocated with the addition of Interstate 81 in the 1960s, the inn's decline in business lead to its closing. Eventually, the Narrow Passage Inn opened in the building and operated through the 1980s. It was reported to have the largest bar in Shenandoah County, an indication the building continued to be a social center. Since the inn closed, the building has sat mostly vacant, despite several attempts to locate businesses, restaurants, and hotels in the structure. For more, view the original article.