There’s no breaking news today and I’ve been working nonstop since noon Wednesday to finish my book on the Ship Hotel. It’s getting there but still rough in the Noah’s Ark chapter and the deadline looms hours away.
Archive for the ‘lodging’ Category
No time for news – write, edit, proof, repeat …
April 22, 2009Praying Mantis down plus other PA LH sites
March 25, 2009On my trip along the Lincoln Highway to Grand View Point near Bedford, Pennsylvania, I snapped a few sites, including the big praying mantis at the Second Time Around Shop, now laying on its side.
Other photos here are the LHHC mural and gas pump in Stoystown, the Washington Furnace Inn closed and for sale, and the rebuilding of the burned Sleepy Hollow tavern and restaurant.
Only the view left at Grand View Point
March 24, 2009
I drove east on the Lincoln Highway last weekend to wrap up my research on the S.S. Grand View Ship Hotel. The Ship, west of Bedford, PA, was one of the best-loved roadside attractions until it burned in 2001. Good weather, a productive trip, lots of photos, and a good book on tape made it fun, but it’s still sad to see the Ship gone and odd to see so many places changed. Old signs gone, new buildings in operation, more lanes for traffic.
Little now changes at Grand View Point. Vandals have taken about all they can, particularly from the lighthouses that once graced each end of the wall. Here’s a very short clip of what remains – not at all exciting but it documents what’s there today. I posted another on YouTube taken when I crawled down the hill.
1880s hotel destroyed by fire in Irwin, PA
March 6, 2009A 3-story hotel, built in the 1880s along Main Street in Irwin, Pennsylvania, was destroyed by fire yesterday. Only minor injuries are reported, but 16 men living there lost everything. The hotel had 35 rooms, a bar, and dining room but all that remains is a brick shell, the roof and third floor having collapsed. The town’s main street, in an uncommon arrangement, runs perpendicular to the Lincoln Highway, which passes a couple blocks south of the hotel.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports the fire was started by a grease fire from a resident cooking breakfast; throwing water on it spread the flames. (Trib photo above; the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also reported on it.) A police officer was able to go door-to-door to evacuate, and firefighters arrived minutes later, but the fire chief said it was hopeless despite more than 20 fire companies responding. The historic Lamp Theater next door appears to be safe. This follows 5 weeks after a fire destroyed a historic inn in Fort Loudon, Pennsylvania.
Lancaster vintage inn may be demolished
March 3, 2009The recession has not slowed development east of Lancaster PA, on a strip that has not stopped reinventing itself for a half-century. Lancaster Online reports that among the projects being considered is redevelopment at 2331 Lincoln Highway East, site of a Rodeway Inn. It would mean the demolition of the former Italian Villa East Restaurant whose motto on old postcards was “A touch of Italy in Dutchland.”
According to a follow-up today, the owners plan to demolish the restaurant and build an 83-room hotel to connect to the existing 39-room Rodeway Inn. The 122 rooms would be operated Rodeway Inn and another chain owned by the same company, sharing a breakfast area between them.
The township engineer expressed concerns regarding an access drive, curbing, excess lot coverage, and that the old building might have historic value.
But the developer “said after a search on the Internet and talking with Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, he couldn’t come up with any records that the dwelling would be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The supervisors, however, still recommended the owners look into somehow reusing materials from the dwelling in the new structure to give it a local flavor.”
The site is across from and very close to the former Congress Inn, a vintage motel that’s set to be demolished and replaced by newer accommodations as I reported a half-year ago.
Medicine Bow Wyoming to celebrate centennial
March 2, 2009Medicine Bow, along a beautiful stretch of the Lincoln Highway in eastern Wyoming, will celebrate its centennial this summer with a weekend celebration. The town is best known for its Virginian Hotel, named for the Owen Wister novel The Virginian. Wister wrote the western while in town and the hotel/saloon was built shortly after. This video gives a brief taste of the town:
The special events take place June 25-28 during the ”Medicine Bow – 100 years of History” weekend. The kick-off event is a showing of the 1914 silent film The Virginian directed by Cecil B. Demille, accompanied by live music. Other events include a world-class quick draw shooting contest, parade, pancake breakfast, and street dances.
Visitors can stay at The Virginian and even try the Owen Wister Suite. (That’s it above when Rick Sebak and the PBS crew stopped by.) The writer’s log cabin has been relocated to across the street. At the Dip Bar & Diner check out the western art paintings that adorn the ceiling, walls, and the floor, or the bar made from the longest slab of jade in the world.
More overnight stops for L Hwy News lodging
February 6, 2009I’ve added about a half-dozen more places to the Lodging on the Lincoln Highway link to your right.
Vintage pillow gift a Lincoln Highway collectible
February 3, 2009One of the people I’ll always associate with the Lincoln Highway is Kevin Kutz, an artist from Bedford, Pa., who has been painting plein air scenes for decades. Along with Dunkle’s Gulf and the Coffee Pot right in Bedford, he had the Grand View Ship Hotel just west of town, which is what brought us to corresponding recently. (I’m racing to finish my book on the Ship Hotel.) Kevin has painted many scenes of the Ship, but as he says, he was never just looking for nostalgic scenes.
And so a big box arrived in yesterday’s mail. Among all his Ship notes and imagery is this pillow. He scribbled a great note to the effect that it had been laying around his cabin, and before it deteriorates more or his wife tosses it out, he thought he’d send it to me. What can you say about such a cool, generous gift? Especially a 90-year-old one that was still being used?!
Look for the book Kevin Kutz’ Lincoln Highway, available on Amazon.
Middlegate and Shoe Tree seen on street views
January 30, 2009I was fishing around the Google street views for Middlegate and the Shoe Tree east of Fallon, Nevada, while double-checking my Lincoln Highway Companion draft, and captured a couple interesting views. Here’s the Shoe Tree – where visitors hang their shoes:
Below is a wide-angle view of Middleage – the stage station, bar, and motel are to the left (South-West); the old Lincoln Highway to the right of center heading into the distance (West); and at right, the side road (NV 361) that heads NorthWest to the intersection with US 50. CLICK THE IMAGE to see the large-sized panorama:
Fire, death at old Lincoln Highway hotel in PA
January 28, 2009One person died Tuesday in a fire that destroyed a 200-year-old inn along the Lincoln Highway in Fort Loudon, Pennsylvania. The victim was a 19-month-old child. A dozen people were left homeless and four firefighters were injured.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
From the York Daily Record
The Herald-Mail of Hagerstown, Maryland ran these photos and a slideshow:
Before I knew about the fire, I was at first glad to hear from Debby Heishman, community news editor for the Public Opinion in Chambersburg, who said she would be running my request for Ship Hotel information. But sadly, she told me a companion story would be about the Fort Loudon Inn, which burned Tuesday morning. That story mentions other Lincoln Highway landmarks that burned in recent memory including Sleepy Hollow Tavern near Ligonier, Swiss Chalet (former Lincoln Lodge) atop Laurel Summit, and of course the Grand View Ship Hotel. All this on the heels of the Mountain View Inn closing Sunday, and a rash of arsons in Coatesville PA, makes for a sad winter along the LH.
The Fort Loudon Hotel was not at a mountaintop but rather at the base of Tuscarora Mountain in the ittle town of Fort Loudon. Its website , filled with historical information, still shows cheery pictures of the place with tales of its recent restoration by Dawn and Richard Gogin and ambitious plans for the future. The c. 1790 house has also been known as the Laurel Hotel or Vance’s Inn to LH travelers, named by Rosie Vance who ran the inn from 1900 to 1946. The common areas (living room, sun porch, etc) had been available to rent plus the inn had 11 efficiency units for long- and short-term occupancy.
Lincoln Highway News 