Penn's Cave and Hotel
Penn's Cave House is a historic structure, once used as a hotel from 1885 until 1919. It is located on the property of Penn's Cave & Wildlife Park at Gregg Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. It is now used strictly for offices for Penn's Cave, Inc., and has not offered overnight or hotel accommodations since 1919. The Penn's Cave property includes seven contributing buildings, one contributing site (the cave), and two contributing structures. Penn's Cave House was built in 1885, and is a three-story, seven-bay, frame building with a high mansard roof. It sits on a limestone foundation. It was extensively remodeled in 1938, and again in 1960. A one-story, rear wing was added in 1962, and was a coffee shop for cave visitors until 1980, when the Penn's Cave Visitors Center was built and opened.[2] In 1980, it became a private residence. Its upper floors are used for corporate offices, private meetings and special events.
Penn's Cave House | |
Penn's Cave, August 2009 | |
Location | 5 miles (8.0 km) east of Centre Hall off Pennsylvania Route 192, Gregg Township, Pennsylvania |
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Coordinates | 40°52′58″N 77°36′36″W |
Area | 57 acres (23 ha) |
Built | 1885 |
Architect | Luge, D.F. |
NRHP reference No. | 78002363[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 14, 1978 |
The cave is a popular tourist attraction and features a natural curiosity with its Trenton (or Beekmantown) limestone formations. The cave measures approximately 1,300 feet in length and the height of the cave roof measures up to 55 feet above the surface of the stream.[2]
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]
- The former hotel at the cave
- Cave interior
- Map of Penn's Cave, October 2010
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Michael Halm and Gregory Ramsey (1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Penn's Cave and Hotel" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-07.