By Natalya Bucuy • The Current Contributing Writer
It all starts right at the front door, as the warmth of the lobby welcomes visitors. Not just the temperature warmth, which feels particularly cozy on the chilly autumn days and nights. But the warmth of time that has lived within the walls.
Historic buildings carry life lived under their roofs through decades and centuries, becoming permanent residents of people’s travel memories. Historic hotels posses a special advantage as they get a more intimate and personal look into the lives of travelers who call them a home away from home.
Here, in the lobby, a bellhop, a young man working to make a living in a small coal-mining town, helped a famous investor with his carpet bag. Up these stairs, a lady went up to her room after a long journey on a steam train, her gloved hand swiping the solid surface of the oak banister. Over there, by the heat of the crackling fire in the dining room, a couple shared a meal after a long day exploring surrounding trails and the charming streets of the small town.
Jim Thorpe has no shortage of historic hotels. Victorian mansions, former community centers, and inns withstood the test of time and economic ups and downs of the area. And they still welcome visitors, awaiting their arrival to create shared memories.
The Inn at Jim Thorpe
The hallmark of Broadway, the Inn at Jim Thorpe stands out with its ornate Victorian woodwork and spacious balconies. In 1833, Cornelius Connor built the White Swan Hotel to accommodate Mauch Chunk’s visitors to the town during its era as a booming coal transportation hub. Tragically, the Great Fire of 1849 destroyed the hotel along with several other buildings. Connor rebuilt the hotel and named the new structure the New American Hotel.
The New American Hotel, an architectural gem and social center of the town during the 19th century, hosted a few famous guests, including General Ulysses S. Grant, President William H. Taft, Buffalo Bill, Thomas Edison, and John D. Rockefeller.
During the later half of the 19th century, Mauch Chunk enjoyed its fame as a major tourist attraction, with its famous Switchback Gravity Railroad and the spectacular Glen Onoko Falls. At that time, more people visited Mauch Chunk than any other tourist attraction in America, except for Niagara Falls.
The Inn fell into disrepair during the Great Depression, as Mauch Chunk, along with many of the region’s coal towns, suffered from the economic downturn. The town’s revival began with the 1954 deal with the Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe’s widow that granted the town his name. The change, along with the growing trend of outdoor life styles and other campaigns initiated by local efforts eventually brought tourism back into town, resurrecting the need for accommodations.
The Inn at Jim Thorpe’s hotel’s owner, John Drury, whose past restoration projects include the Chestnut Hill Hotel near Philadelphia and Glenside’s Keswick Theater, bought the Inn in 1988 and restored it to its original splendor. His son David is the Inn’s General Manager and a partner in the company, which also includes his brother Dale. The Inn’s restoration served as one of the major catalysts in Jim Thorpe’s continuous revitalization during the 1980s.
The hotel, which spreads across three different buildings at 24 and 55 Broadway and 44 West Broadway, provides 65 guest rooms total. The rooms vary in size, decor, and, of course, their charm.
The Y on Broadway
It’s time to stay at the YMCA, friends! This fall, after almost three years of work, owners Tom Chapman and Duke Blauch opened open the doors of The Y on Broadway. It’s Jim Thorpe’s newest hotel, a former YMCA facility originally built in 1894.
Prior to its most recent transformation into a boutique 19-room hotel, the building served as an office space. Originally the YMCA of Mauch Chunk, the Y on Broadway features meticulously preserved historical architecture and design influenced by classical revival elements, pedimented windows and doorways, and the iconic columned balcony. The four front pillars, which once served as a part of the first courthouse in the town of Mauch Chunk, still adorn the front of the building. Historical pictures taken throughout the past 100 years document the transformation of the local area and invite visitors on a journey through time from the building’s interior walls.
Hotel Switzerland
Jim Thorpe is known as the Switzerland of America for its quaint streets and architectural charm. And so, we cannot wrap up without the mention of a historical hotel that pays homage to that nick name.
Established in 1830, the Hotel Switzerland stands as the oldest commercial building operating in Jim Thorpe. In the mid-1800’s, The Switzerland stood between the Armbruster and Central hotels in the heart of the downtown. Today it is the only surviving structure on old Hazard Square.
The old Hotel offered the traveler a comfortable and affordable stay with the convenience of a pub and eatery all on the same premise. Today the Hotel Switzerland continues the traditions set in the 19th century, offering comfortable and affordable lodging and good ol’ Irish Pub fare at the Molly Maguire’s Irish Pub.
Natalya Bucuy is a journalist, short fiction, and non-fiction writer. To view more of her work, visit her website, nowwehaveastory.com
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