The Hotel Hershey

Last updated
The Hotel Hershey
The Hotel Hershey Logo.png
HotelHersheyFountainLobby.jpg
The Original Fountain Lobby
The Hotel Hershey
General information
Architectural styleSpanish Colonial Revival
Address100 Hotel Rd
Town or city Hershey, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°17′59″N76°39′35″W / 40.2998°N 76.6596°W / 40.2998; -76.6596
Opened1933
Owner Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company
Other information
Number of rooms276
Number of restaurants3
Number of bars1
Website
https://www.thehotelhershey.com/

The Hotel Hershey is a resort hotel in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Established in 1933, it is a historical landmark and five-star hotel located on a hilltop overlooking Hershey, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding area. It was inducted into Historic Hotels of America, the official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, since 1991. [1] It has 276 guest rooms and 23,500 square feet (2,180 m2) of event space.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The hotel's architectural style is Spanish Colonial revival, including mosaic tiles and archways, and a villa-style balcony overlooking Hershey and Hershey Gardens. Historic photographs and original artwork line the halls and decorate guest room walls, as well as the Iberian Lounge, which is designed to resemble dim, fireplace-lit cigar lounges of the past.[ citation needed ]

History

Milton S. Hershey Milton Hershey.jpg
Milton S. Hershey

During the Great Depression, Milton S. Hershey, founder of The Hershey Chocolate Company, planned for the hotel to be a recreation of the famous Heliopolis Palace Hotel, construction plans changed and were delayed due to costs and the death of Hershey's wife, Catherine. [2] When construction began, the new plans drew on Mediterranean and Spanish influences.[ citation needed ]

Construction began in 1931 and the hotel was completed on May 23, 1932. The effort employed as many as 800 workers. The bill for the hotel was around $2 million. The Hotel officially opened on May 26, 1933. Generating income by then was not the main goal of the project. Being the height of the Great Depression, Hershey was attempting to help the people of the city by creating jobs. [3] [ better source needed ]

In 1934, a nine-hole golf course was added to the grounds and in 1961, an outdoor swimming pool was added. [4] In 1977, a new 100 room wing was added to the hotel along with a new indoor pool and fitness center. [5] In 2001, a full service spa called "The Spa At The Hotel Hershey" was added. The spa offered treatments featuring chocolate, including: chocolate wraps, chocolate baths, chocolate lotion and scrubs. [6] In 2009, The Hotel Hershey completed work on a $67 million expansion and renovation project which included a redesigned exterior and lobby. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton S. Hershey</span> American chocolatier (1857–1945)

Milton Snavely Hershey was an American chocolatier, businessman, and philanthropist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton Hershey School</span> Private boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania

The Milton Hershey School, formerly the Hershey Industrial School, is a private boarding school in Hershey, Pennsylvania for K–12 students. The institution was founded in 1909 by chocolate industrialist Milton Hershey and his wife, Catherine Hershey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey, Pennsylvania</span> Census-designated place in Pennsylvania, United States

Hershey is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to The Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hersheypark</span> Theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States

Hersheypark is a family theme park in the eastern United States in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about fifteen miles (25 km) east of Harrisburg, and 95 miles (155 km) west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company. It is wholly and privately owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. Hersheypark has won several awards, including the Applause Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest A. Batchelder</span> American artist and educator

Ernest Allan Batchelder was an American artist and educator who made Southern California his home in the early 20th century. He created art tiles and was a leader in the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 422</span> Highway in Ohio and Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 422 (US 422) is a 271-mile (436 km) long spur route of US 22 split into two segments in the U.S. states of Ohio and Pennsylvania. The western segment of US 422 runs from downtown Cleveland, Ohio, east to Ebensburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern segment, located entirely within Pennsylvania, runs from Hershey east to King of Prussia, near Philadelphia. US 422 Business serves as a business route into each of four towns along the way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H. B. Reese</span> American businessman and inventor

Harry Burnett Reese was an American inventor and businessman known for creating the number one-selling candy brand in the United States Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and founding the H. B. Reese Candy Company. In 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame.

WITF-TV is a non-commercial television station in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States, a member station of PBS serving the Susquehanna Valley region (Harrisburg–Lancaster–Lebanon–York). It is owned by WITF, Inc., alongside the area's NPR member, WITF-FM (89.5). Both stations share studios at the WITF Public Media Center in Swatara Township, while WITF-TV's transmitter is located in Middle Paxton Township, next to the transmitter of CBS affiliate WHP-TV. WITF's programming is relayed on low-power digital translator station W20EU-D in Chambersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company</span> American entertainment company

Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company is a privately held corporation based in Pennsylvania. Milton S. Hershey established HE&R in 1927 to distinguish and separate his chocolate manufacturing company from his other business ventures. All of his non-chocolate producing businesses were established as Hershey Estates, renamed HERCO, Inc. in 1976 and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 39</span> State highway in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States

Pennsylvania Route 39 (PA 39) is a 17.83-mile-long (28.69 km) state highway located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. PA 39 runs from North Front Street near Harrisburg east to U.S. Route 322 (US 322) and US 422 near Hummelstown and Hershey. The route passes through the northern and eastern suburbs of Harrisburg and passes by Hersheypark, Giant Center, as well as the primary production factory for The Hershey Company. Between Harrisburg and Manada Hill, it is known as Linglestown Road, from Manada Hill to Hershey as Hershey Road and from Hershey to near Hummelstown and Hershey as Hersheypark Drive. Prior to the establishment of PA 39 in 1937, PA 39, had previously been designated as a route in northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1920s. That designation was deleted when it was renumbered US 11. As a result, PA 39 is one of a few routes which has a set of child routes which are no where near the primary route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey Gardens</span>

Hershey Gardens is a 23-acre (9.3 ha) botanical garden and arboretum located at 170 Hotel Road, Hershey, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They are set atop a hill overlooking Hersheypark. It was built as a gift from chocolate magnate Milton S. Hershey for his community and to honor his wife, Catherine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hershey Story</span> Museum of the Hershey Company

The Hershey Story, The Museum on Chocolate Avenue is devoted to the history and legacy of Milton S. Hershey and the chocolate candy confections he invented. It is located at 63 West Chocolate Avenue in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania, and opened in January 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey Creamery Company</span> American pre-packaged ice cream and cold dessert maker

Hershey Creamery Company, also known as Hershey's Ice Cream, is an American creamery that produces ice cream, sorbet, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and other frozen desserts such as smoothies and frozen slab-style ice cream mixers. It was founded by Jacob Hershey and four of his brothers in 1894 and taken over by the Holder family in the 1920s. The company was one of the first to offer consumers pre-packaged ice cream pints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hershey Theatre</span> Theater in Hershey, Pennsylvania

Hershey Theatre is a 1,904-seat theater in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania. Touring Broadway musicals, concerts, community performances, and dance groups perform at the theater.

The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, alternatively the House of Music, Arts & Culture, is a multidisciplinary arts and cultural center located in Midtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located in the historic Police Athletic League building, which originally served as a Jewish Community Center about one mile (1.6 km) from the Pennsylvania State Capitol complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania history</span>

This is a timeline of the major events in the history of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and vicinity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Hersheypark</span>

The history of Hersheypark begins with the founding of the town of Hershey in 1903. Milton Hershey, The owner of the Hershey Chocolate Company surveyed a nearby area of land, which was to become a leisure park for the employees of his chocolate company. People began visiting the grounds of the future park in 1904 and 1905, while the park's first pavilion was built in the fall of 1905. The park was formally opened on May 30, 1906, when it opened as Hershey Park. The park slowly added rides until 1923, when the first roller coaster, the Wild Cat, was built. From then on, rides were regularly added, except during World War II. The park was redeveloped into Hersheypark in 1970, through a multi-phase project. Since then, it has added ten roller coasters, expanded to over 110 acres, and features many other attractions including shows with sea lions, well-known acts including Weird Al Yankovic and Duff Goldman from Charm City Cakes in the Hersheypark Amphitheater, and a short-lived laser light show.

Hershey, Pennsylvania witnessed a six-day sit-down strike of workers at the Hershey Chocolate Corporation in 1937. The strike ended in violence, as dairy workers and loyal Hershey employees stormed the factory to force out strikers. Eventually, the company signed an agreement with the American Federation of Labor through the Bakery and Confectionery International Union, becoming one of the first American candy companies to unionize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nittany Lion Inn</span> Hotel at Pennsylvania State University

Nittany Lion Inn is a hotel located on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania. Built by Consolidated Hotel Service Inc., the Nittany Lion Inn and was opened in 1931. Its location near the Nittany Lion Shrine and Rec Hall. The location is currently being used as student housing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

  1. "Hotel History - The Hotel Hershey®". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  2. "Hershey Community Thrives With Building Boom and Higher Company Dividend". The Evening News. Harrisburg, PA. December 22, 1931. p. 11.
  3. "New Hershey Hotel Will Be Formally Opened Tonight With Dinner for 400". The Evening News. Harrisburg, PA. May 26, 1933. p. 13.{
  4. "History | the Hotel Hershey".
  5. "Hershey Community Archives | Search Results". www.hersheyarchives.org. Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  6. JAFFE, JODY (2001-03-04). "A Spa Lover's Sweet Dream". Los Angeles Times. ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  7. "Hotel Hershey Reveals $67M Expansion | Hotel Business". Hotel Business. 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2018-08-09.