HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
The last surviving original riverfront commercial building in Marietta, built in 1826 for merchant Dudley Woodbridge Jr.; now a restaurant whose upper floor draws repeated reports of unexplained activity tied to a 19th-century murder.
127 Ohio Street, Marietta, OH 45750
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Restaurant pricing; reservations recommended for weekend dinner service.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor dining is accessible; the historic upper floor uses original staircases.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1826 · Last surviving original riverfront commercial building in historic Marietta · Built in 1826 for Dudley Woodbridge Jr., the first dry-goods merchant in the Northwest Territory · Successive uses as the La Belle Hotel, the Golden Eagle, The Levee House restaurant, and today Levee House Bistro
The three-story brick building at 127 Ohio Street was erected in 1826 for Dudley Woodbridge Jr., the son of Marietta founding-era merchant Dudley Woodbridge and himself the first dry-goods merchant in the Northwest Territory. Its riverfront location made it a hub for Ohio River trade in the early nineteenth century.
Later in the 1800s the building's uses included service as the La Belle Hotel and the Golden Eagle, with portions of the property used as a boarding house under one Madame Nora Descott. Contemporary accounts describe the surrounding stretch of Ohio Street as rougher than other parts of Marietta, and the building gathered a reputation as a venue for drink and prostitution during the late-Victorian era.
The structure is now the only original riverfront commercial building from Marietta's pioneer-era core still standing, all of its peers having been lost to floods, fires, or demolition. It operated for decades as The Levee House restaurant, which has since closed; Levee House Bistro, a separately run restaurant, now occupies the building. Its history is documented in both Clutch MOV's architectural history and Marietta Times property-history features.
Sources
According to the Ohio Cooperative Living 'Haunted Marietta' feature and the News and Sentinel's 2013 reporting, the building's haunting reputation traces to a late-nineteenth-century incident. As told in regional lore, an oil tycoon frequented the La Belle Hotel — then occupying the building — for the company of a prostitute, and was killed there one night by his son, who was later acquitted at trial. This account is the lore on which the haunting is built; it is repeated in multiple regional sources but is rooted primarily in oral tradition rather than primary records.
Chef Tommy Hickey has been quoted describing unexplained shadows passing the kitchen doorway, and current staff describe candles relighting themselves and discomfort being alone on the upper floor. A man is sometimes reported to be seen entering through the back door of the restaurant. The Ohio Exploration Society's Washington County page records the same cluster of accounts and identifies the second floor as the most active area.
Dine in Marietta's last surviving original 1826 riverfront commercial building, now home to Levee House Bistro. Staff at the earlier Levee House restaurant cited the second floor as the most paranormally active part of the building.
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