Penn Hills Resort
Penn Hills Resort was a honeymoon resort located in Analomink, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains that closed in 2009.
Founded as a tavern in 1944, Penn Hills expanded to over a hundred rooms.[1]
The 500-acre Penn Hills grew in the 1960s to include a ski resort and a golf course. Guest villas featured floor-to-ceiling carpeting, round beds, and heart-shaped bathtubs.[3] 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.[4]
Billed as a "Paradise of Pocono Pleasure" and a place of "unbridled passion",[5] 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."[6]
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] A portion of the resort became the Forever green park.[10]
In January 2016, a group of New York investors purchased what remained of Penn Hills for $400,000. As of May 2016, they were still determining how best to develop the property.[11][12]
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.[13][14] On December 7 of the same year, the remaining structures began to be demolished to clear the land for a heritage center being opened by the Brodhead Watershed Association.[10]
The hotel was the site of Tigers Jaw's music video for "June", from their album spin.
References
- 1 2 Michael Sadowski, Venerable Pocono resort is deserted, Pocono Record, April 15, 2009
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 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
- 1 2 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 "Penn Hills' new owners see opportunity where others see blight"] Check
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value (help). Pocono Record. Retrieved 4 January 2017. - ↑ 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.
External links
- Trip Advisor Reviews
- Penn Hills Resort 1978 TV commercial
- 2012 photo essay
- 2012 Trespass Theater event
Coordinates: 41°03′27″N 75°12′48″W / 41.05750°N 75.21333°W