Penn Hills Resort
Penn Hills Resort was a honeymoon resort located in Analomink, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. Founded as a tavern in 1944, the resort grew in the 1960s, with over a hundred rooms in the hotel[1] and a ski resort and golf course on the 500 acre site. Guest villas featured floor-to-ceiling carpeting, round beds, and heart-shaped bathtubs.[2] Distinctive, modernist streetlights from the 1964 World's Fair were installed, as well as an ice rink and a wedding bell shaped outdoor swimming pool.[3]
Billed as a "Paradise of Pocono Pleasure" and a place of "unbridled passion",[4] Penn Hills catered to young couples who enjoyed archery and tennis and danced at modestly lavish New Year's Eve parties where the motto was "No balloon goes unpopped."[5]
The resort closed in 2009.
Closure
In 2009, Penn Hills co-founder Frances Paolillo died at the age of 102 and the resort closed less than two months later. Monroe County took over the property in lieu of back taxes.[1] Workers' final paychecks were never issued, and the resort owed the county over $1 million in back taxes.[7] Already in serious disrepair, flooding and copper thieves damaged the buildings further, and the resort was abandoned.[8]
By 2012, Monroe County had sold several small parcels of Penn Hills. However, most of the resort remained unsold.[9] The resort's 40-acre former golf course was purchased by Stroud Township and became the ForEvergreen Nature Preserve.[10]
In January 2016, a group of New York investors purchased what remained of Penn Hills for $400,000. [11][12] The property was sold again in mid-2017 for $688,000.[13]
On September 4, 2017, the main building of the resort burned to the ground. This was the third time in three years that the resort had caught fire.[14][15] On December 7 of the same year, the demolition of the former golf club house on the new ForEvergreen Nature Preserve began as part of the creation of the Brodhead Creek Heritage Center. [16][10]
The hotel was the site of Tigers Jaw's music video for "June", from their 2017 album Spin.
References
- Michael Sadowski, Venerable Pocono resort is deserted, Pocono Record, April 15, 2009
- William Robbins, What's Doing In the Poconos, New York Times, April 12, 1981
- Worlds Fair Community message board, 2011
- Ethan Todras-Whitehill, Where Every Day Is New Year's Eve, New York Times, December 28, 2007
- Marta Gouger, New Year's bash of a decade... or 4, Pocono Record, December 31, 2007
- Maurer, Pablo Iglesias. "Abandoned States: Places In Idyllic 1960s Postcards Have Transformed Into Scenes Of Abandonment". DCist. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- Beth Brelje, Honeymoon is ending at Penn Hills, Pocono Record, April 1, 2009
- Beth Brelje, Attempted copper theft lands one in hospital, one in jail, Pocono Record, May 19, 2010
- Michael Sadowski, Abandoned Analomink resort remains mostly unsold, Pocono Record, May 4, 2012
- Strunk, Brianna (2017-12-07). "Demolition Underway for New Heritage Center". PA Homepage.
- Kevin Kunzmann, Penn Hills acreage sold, Pocono Record, February 29, 2016
- Kunzmann, Kevin (May 12, 2016). "Penn Hills' new owners see opportunity where others see blight". Pocono Record. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- https://www.pahomepage.com/news/penn-hills-resort-sold/730364049/#:~:text=MONROE%20COUNTY%20(WBRE%2FWYOU),original%20asking%20price%20of%20%24899%2C000.
- Transue, Elizabeth (2017-09-04). "Former Honeymoon Resort Catches Fire in Monroe County". WNEP. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- "Penn Hills fire under investigation". Pocono Record. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
- http://brodheadcreekheritage.org/