Grand View Point Hotel

Last updated

Grand View Point Hotel
Grand View Point Hotel in Bedford County Pennsylvania.jpg
Grand View Point Hotel, 1999
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Nearest cityU.S. Route 30, 17 miles (27 km) west of Bedford, Juniata Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°2′14.66″N78°45′30.13″W / 40.0374056°N 78.7583694°W / 40.0374056; -78.7583694
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Built1927, 1932
Built byLouis Franci, Emilio Rosso
ArchitectAlfred B. Sinnhuber
Architectural styleroadside architecture
MPS Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor Historic Resources: Franklin to Westmoreland Counties MPS
NRHP reference No. 97000219 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPlisted 1997
Removed from NRHPJanuary 14, 2002

The S.S. Grand View Point Hotel, also known as the Ship Hotel or Ship of the Alleghenies, was a historic hotel and roadside attraction in Juniata Township in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was built in 1927 as a hotel, but did not become the Ship Hotel until the additions which made it look like a ship were completed in 1932. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, but after the hotel burned down in 2001 it was delisted in 2002. [1]

Contents

Construction

The hotel was built in 1927, but was not transformed into the Ship Hotel until an expansion in 1932. Louis Franci and Emilio Rosso, Italian immigrants living in Allegheny County's Turtle Creek Valley, were hired as the construction managers. [2] [3] Rosso was a World War I veteran who had fought in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive and the Battle of Saint-Mihiel in 1917.

Herbert Paulson, a Dutch-born man, their supervisor, had the idea for what would become the landmark. The architect, Alfred Sinnhuber, was born in or around Berlin, Germany, and arrived in the U.S. in 1903. He often referred to himself as a "building designer" or architect and lived in Turtle Creek, but he also worked as a "checker" and lathe operator at the Westinghouse plant in East Pittsburgh. He was married to Elsa Marie Kristen and his children joined him in the plant. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Working in the Westinghouse plant was the norm for those living in Pittsburgh and its suburbs, with Franci and Rosso likely working there at some point as well. All of these individuals would work together to build the Ship Hotel expansion. Allegedly, Paulson invited Franci and Rosso on a hunting trip, proposing to these two men the idea of expanding his existing hotel into the Ship Hotel.

As local historian Brian Butko notes, Paulson chose these two men, who lived near the Westinghouse plant where he (and they likely) worked, assuming that folks living in Turtle Creek Valley "knew all about building on steep hillsides." [10] As Sinnhuber designed the new hotel and reportedly supervised the construction, Franci and Rosso were the construction managers. Paulson, who was a tool- and die-maker in the Pittsburgh plant, reportedly told the state government: "It's my property, either you let me build it or you buy the property!" [11] [12] [13]

The construction itself began in October 1931. The ship design was chosen since fog in the valley reportedly looked like the sea. Paulson told them that they had from October until May of the following year to expand the hotel, a time frame of less than eight months, mostly in cold and snowy weather. A former owner of a car dealership in the area, Walter T. Matthews, told Butko that the ship needed over 63 tons of steel and cost about $125,000 to build, which was borrowed at 16% interest. [14] Matthews further claimed that Franci and Rosso went broke in attempting to build the base of the hotel, having to drill down 32 feet to find rock. Additionally, the site was over 2,400 feet above sea level and 500 feet below the Allegheny Mountain summit, making it hard to build. [15] Specifically, there was burrowing under the Lincoln Highway, or U.S. Route 30, in order to insert the three heavy I-beams, with embedded huge concrete piers allowing the ship to "ride." Other than the cement and 18 steel piers, numerous carloads of lumber were used for the 3/4-inch thick wood that was overlaid with metal siding, coming from at least 22 junked car frames, to cover the hotel's exterior. [16] [12] [13] [17] Also, nails and 72 tons of steel, by some counts, went into the construction of the expanded 5-floor-hotel, coupled with water piped from half-a-mile away.

While Franci and Rosso did manual work to build the expanded hotel, they had a crew which helped them with the laborious process of construction. [18]

Grand opening and later years

After 1931, the Ship Hotel blossomed. At noon on May 29, 1932, after it was announced in the local Bedford Gazette, the ship opened, offering tours, staff inspections, and concerts. [19] [20] [13] On that day, the Bedford American Legion Junior band, a local German band, and the Bedford High School band played, while a plane flew overhead dropping flowers on the ship's deck and a stilt walker entertained guests. The hotel was described as having "one of the most significant scenic views on the North American continent" with views of a fertile region of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and of Maryland's rolling hills. [21] [22] [23] The main claim was that you could see three states and seven counties from the ship, with no official list of what one could see from the ship itself.

As years went by, the hotel stayed on despite difficulties. The Paulson family lived on the ship and kept it running for many years, with Clara Paulson having the distinction as the only person who was born on the ship. [24] [17] Day-to-day entertainment included a local comedian, a grand orchestra, and much more, even when it was snow-bound in the winters. [24] [17] The ship was remodeled numerous times and thrived even with the building of the PA turnpike, suffered the brunt of anti-German discrimination during World War II, and stayed busy until the 1970s when public interest in roadside attractions began to wane.

By 1954, reportedly 2 million people had visited it, covering 20 volumes of registers, including those living in 62 foreign countries and possibly famous celebrities such as Calvin Coolidge, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison. [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [18] [32] [33] [34]

Over the years, the hotel made much of its money in souvenirs and refreshments, starting in 1932 and until Paulson's death in 1973. [35] [36] [37] [17] [38] [39] [40] [41] [42] [43]

After 1978 the ship was turned into "Noah's Ark" by another family, the Loyas. From then on, the ship fell into disrepair, burning down in October 2001, [44] reportedly due to lights kept on in the decaying structure to dissuade squatters. [18] [37] [26] [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Turnpike</span> East–west toll highway

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is a controlled-access toll road that is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 360 miles (580 km) across the state, connecting Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania with Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allegheny County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Allegheny County is a county in Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,250,578, making it the state's second-most populous county, after Philadelphia County. Its county seat and most populous city is Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's second most populous city. The county is part of the Greater Pittsburgh region of the state, and is the center of the Pittsburgh media market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford. The county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroeville, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Monroeville is a home rule municipality in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a suburb with mixed residential and commercial developments located about 10 miles (16 km) east of Pittsburgh. As of the 2020 census, Monroeville was home to 28,640 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Versailles Township, Pennsylvania</span> Township in Pennsylvania, United States

North Versailles is a first class township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 10,079 at the 2020 census. The township derives its name from the Palace of Versailles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penn Hills, Pennsylvania</span> Home rule township in Pennsylvania, United States

Penn Hills is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 41,059 as of the 2020 census. A suburb of Pittsburgh, Penn Hills is the second-largest municipality in Allegheny County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilmerding, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Wilmerding is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2020 census. It is located 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. At the start of the twentieth century, it had extensive foundries and machine shops of the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. Wilmerding is adjacent to the borough of Turtle Creek, which takes its name from a small stream that flows past both places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford, Pennsylvania</span> Borough in Pennsylvania, United States

Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located 102 miles (164 km) west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and 107 miles (172 km) east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,865 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 376</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

Interstate 376 (I-376) is a major auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System in the US state of Pennsylvania, located within the Allegheny Plateau. It runs from I-80 near Sharon south and east to a junction with the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Monroeville, after having crossed the Pennsylvania Turnpike at an interchange in Big Beaver. The route serves Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas and is the main access road to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). Portions of the route are known as the Beaver Valley Expressway, Southern Expressway, and Airport Parkway. Within Allegheny County, the route runs along the majority of the Penn-Lincoln Parkway, known locally as Parkway West and Parkway East. It is currently the ninth-longest auxiliary Interstate route in the system and second only to I-476 within Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 579</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

Interstate 579 (I-579) is a north–south Interstate Highway entirely within Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The highway is 2.73 miles (4.39 km) long. I-579 is also known as the Crosstown Boulevard since it crosses the backside of Downtown Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breezewood, Pennsylvania</span> Unincorporated town in Pennsylvania, United States

Breezewood is an unincorporated town in East Providence Township, Bedford County in south-central Pennsylvania, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West End (Pittsburgh)</span> Neighborhood of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States

West End Village is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's west city area. It has a zip code of 15220, and has representation on Pittsburgh City Council by the council member for District 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawnee State Park (Pennsylvania)</span> State park in Bedford County, Pennsylvania

Shawnee State Park is a 3,983-acre (1,612 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Juniata and Napier Townships, Bedford County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Shawnee Lake, a 451-acre (183 ha) warm water reservoir, is at the center of the park as its main attraction. The park's main entrance is just east of Schellsburg, along U.S. Route 30 and about 10 miles (16 km) west of the county seat of Bedford. The park is also easily accessed via State Route 31 and by State Route 96.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 28</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 28 is a major state highway, which runs for 98 miles (158 km) from Anderson Street in Pittsburgh to U.S. Route 219 (US 219) in Brockway in Pennsylvania in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 30 in Pennsylvania</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 30 (US 30) is a U.S. Highway that runs east–west across the southern part of Pennsylvania, passing through Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on its way from the West Virginia state line east to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River into New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Westinghouse Bridge</span> United States historic place

George Westinghouse Memorial Bridge in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, carries U.S. Route 30, the Lincoln Highway, over the Turtle Creek Valley near to where it joins the Monongahela River Valley east of Pittsburgh. The reinforced concrete open-spandrel deck arch bridge has a total length of 1,598 feet (487 m) comprising five spans. The longest, central span is 460 feet (140 m), with the deck height 240 feet (73 m) above the valley floor, for a time the world's longest concrete arch span structure. It cost $1.75 million. The design engineers were Vernon R. Covell and George S. Richardson, with architectural design by Stanley Roush. The pylons at the ends of the bridges feature Art Deco reliefs by Frank Vittor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 51</span> State highway in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Route 51 is a major state highway that is located in Western Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 89 miles (143 km) from Uniontown to the Ohio state line near Darlington, where it connects with Ohio State Route 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 48</span> State highway in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 48 is an 18.9-mile-long (30.4 km) state highway located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. The route is predominantly a two-lane highway as it runs through McKeesport and other suburbs. The entire routing of PA 48 is part of the Orange Belt, both reaching their southern termini at PA 51, southeast of Elizabeth. Until 1998, the northern terminus of PA 48 was at the intersection of Old Haymaker and Center Roads, about 1/2 mile from its current terminus at U.S. Route 22 Business in Monroeville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 885</span> State highway in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 885 is a 14.1-mile-long (22.69 km) north–south state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs from Pennsylvania Route 837 in Clairton north to Interstate 579 in Pittsburgh. The route is entirely within Allegheny County and serves as a connector between the city of Pittsburgh and its southern suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 130</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 130 (PA 130) is a 49-mile-long (79 km) state highway located in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 8 in Pittsburgh, and the eastern terminus is at PA 381 near Kregar.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. U.S. Federal Census of 1930 for Patton, Allegheny, Pennsylvania. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  3. Emilio Rosso Veterans Compensation Application, February 10, 1934, World War I Veterans Service and Compensation File, 1934–1948. RG 19, Series 19.91. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg Pennsylvania. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  4. Birth of Elsa Irene Sinnhuber, Pennsylvania (State). Birth certificates, 1906–1908. Series 11.89 (50 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  5. Draft card of Albert Sinnhuber, United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, 4,582 rolls. Imaged from Family History Library microfilm. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  6. Albert Sinnhuber declaration in Pennsylvania, March 3, 1917, Naturalization Petitions for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1795–1930. (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1522, 369 rolls); Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21.
  7. National Archives, Washington, D.C. p. 258. Courtesy of ancestry.com; Albert Sinnhuber declaration in Pennsylvania, March 25, 1929, National Archives at Philadelphia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; ARC Title: Petitions for Naturalization, 1820 – 1979; NAI Number: 2837692; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685–2009; Record Group Number: RG 21. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  8. U.S. Federal Census of 1930 for Turtle Creek, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  9. U.S. Federal Census of 1940 for Turtle Creek, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. T627, 4,643 rolls. Courtesy of ancestry.com.
  10. Brian Butko, The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2010), 34.
  11. Butko, The Ship Hotel, 35.
  12. 1 2 "U.S.S. Grandview Ship Hotel: Lincoln Highway Archived December 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine ," Miniature Railroad & Village, accessed December 2017.
  13. 1 2 3 Brian Butko, "Ship Hotel: Afloat with the Lincoln Highway's Most Unusual Landmark [ permanent dead link ]," Pennsylvania Heritage Vol. XL, No. 2, Spring 2014.
  14. Brian Butko, Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide: The Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002), 230–231; "Carnegie Science Center Unveils 2003 Miniature Railroad and Village," Allegheny City Society Reporter Dispatch, Winter 2003, p. 3, accessed December 2017.
  15. William A. White, "Mountain Ship," The Pittsburgh Press, Section Two, March 23, 1954, p. 21. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  16. "Just Another Roadside Attraction," The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1986, Sunday Magazine, p. 7. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  17. 1 2 3 4 David Greenlees, "The S. S. Grand ViewPoint Hotel On The Lincoln Highway," The Old Motor, July 9, 2012, accessed December 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 Chris Wechtenhiser, "Historic Ship Hotel burns [ dead link ]," Bedford Gazette, October 27–28, 2001.
  19. Brian Butko, Pennsylvania Traveler's Guide: The Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002), 230–231.
  20. Butko, The Ship Hotel, 35–36.
  21. The Federal Writers Project, The WPA Guide to Pennsylvania: The Keystone State (San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 1940 (2013 reprint)), 451.
  22. Patrick M. Reynolds, "Western Pennsylvania Embraces Visitors," Reading Eagle, June 25, 1978, Leisure, p. 73. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  23. Doug Pappas, "Grand View Hotel Tribute 2," Lincoln Highway Home, Society for American Baseball Research, accessed December 2017.
  24. 1 2 Butko, The Ship Hotel, 42–44, 46–47, 49, 51, 54–55.
  25. Butko, The Ship Hotel, 57–58, 61, 66–68, 70.
  26. 1 2 Associated Press, "Fire destroys quirky ship hotel in Pennsylvania," Rome News-Tribune, October 28, 2001, p. 5A, no. 501. Courtesy of the Google News Archive.
  27. Mary Thomas, "Passing Scenery," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 8, 2004, Homes & Gardens, Section B, p. B-6. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  28. "Just Another Roadside Attraction," The Pittsburgh Press, June 28, 1986, Sunday Magazine, p. 6-7. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  29. Associated Press, "Group wants to restore hotel in shape of ship," Gettysburg Times, August 3, 1998, Vol. 96, no. 183, Digest, p. A2. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  30. Associated Press, "Group wants to restore Ship Hotel," Beaver County Times, August 2, 1998, Sports, p. B7. Courtesy of Google News Archive.
  31. 1 2 Tom Gibb, "Fire sinks the 'Ship,' U.S. 30 hotel-eatery," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 27, 2001.
  32. Doug Pappas, "Grand View Hotel Tribute," Lincoln Highway Home, Society for American Baseball Research, accessed December 2017.
  33. Doug Pappas, "Grand View Hotel Tribute 3," Lincoln Highway Home, Society for American Baseball Research, accessed December 2017.
  34. "The S.S. Grand View Point Hotel," Lincoln Highway Corridor, 2016, accessed December 2017.
  35. Patricia Lowry, "Ship Hotel has sailed, but a jaunty new book honors its history and heyday," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 12, 2010.
  36. Tom Gibb, "The Ship sails choppy seas," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 15, 1998.
  37. 1 2 Doug Kirby, Ken Smith, and Mike Wilkins, "Lincoln Highway's Ship of the Alleghenies Burns," RoadsideAmerica.com, Accessed December 2017.
  38. Richard Funk, Along Pennsylvania's Lincoln Highway (San Francisco, CA: Arcadia Publishing, 2006), 91.
  39. "Local Fun," Schellsburg, PA, accessed December 2017.
  40. Jeffrey J. Kitsko, "Lincoln Highway," November 27, 2015, accessed December 2017.
  41. "3 States And 7 Counties!," WQED, August 15, 2008, accessed December 2017.
  42. Jerin Miller and Angelica W. Capone, "A Coffee Pot for Giants," Pennsylvania Center for the Book (Penn State), Fall 2010 and Spring 2011, accessed in December 2017.
  43. Charles Phoenix, "S.S. GRAND VIEW SHIP HOTEL, BEDFORD COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA,1957," Charles Phoenix, 2016, accessed December 2017.
  44. "Fire destroys historic 'Ship of the Alleghenies' hotel". Indiana Gazette . October 27, 2001. p. 5. Retrieved August 20, 2022 via Newspapers.com.