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the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania acquired the mansion and 1,430 acres of land in 1973. An environmental education center opened here in 1977 and a training center opened in 1980.
ings Gap State Park seeks to teach about the natural world and critical environmental issues facing society. It also helps
provide skills for appreciating and enjoy- ing the outdoors.
Another venue available for meetings and events in Cumberland Valley is the Army Heritage and Education Center. While not a historic building, it does contain a great deal of historical information. It is a pre- mier facility for U.S. Army research and owns the largest collection of Civil War photos. The site continues to expand with construction of a 37,000 square foot visi- tor and education center currently under- way.
When completed in 2011, this center will offer extensive gallery space for exhibits, an orientation room, a museum store and café, plus a 600-seat multi-purpose room for hosting conferences, historical pro- grams, military events and other public events.
Not far from here is another magnificent historic venue - The Hotel Hershey. The brainchild of Milton S. Hershey during the Great Depression, he had a vision to build a grand hotel in this town he had “built on chocolate.” By 1930, he had already con- structed the chocolate factory, homes for his employees and a school for orphans.
Workers began building the hotel in 1932, continued through a very mild winter, and completed the project in 1933.
make it special, perhaps the most striking is its Circular Dining Room. It was built in a semi-circle without pillars or corners, so every guest can view its breathtaking for- mal gardens.
Today, The Hotel Hershey celebrates more than 75 years of tradition and elegance. Throughout 2009 the hotel unveiled its $67 million building campaign known as “The Grand Expansion.” Along with dra- matic upgrades to its front entrance, the expansion featured 10 new luxury guest cottages; one meetings cottage; a multi- pool swimming complex with an infinity- edge pool; year-round ice-skating rink; new recreation area; 130-seat restaurant; and seven new boutique shops known as The Shops At The Hotel Hershey.
Shortly
after the hotel opened, renowned world traveler Lowell Thomas described it as “a palace that out-palaces the palaces of the Maharajahs of India.” Though so many features of the Mediterranean-style hotel
In all, this historic hotel offers 278 guest rooms, including 48 premium cottage rooms, 23,500 square feet of meeting and banquet space, The Chocolate Spa, plus 100,000 square feet of space at its sister
A Storied Past
If every picture tells a story, then the many historic venues in the mid-Atlantic region can fill a book. Within the walls of these structures, which have been fully renovated and restored, voices from the past and a way of life of long ago still echo.
The Hagley Museum and Library near Wilmington is an outdoor history museum that interprets early American industry, boasts restored mills, a workers’ community and the ancestral home and gardens of the du Pont family.
Normandy Farm Hotel and Conference Center and Blue Bell Country Club in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania are just min- utes from Plymouth Meeting and King of Prussia. In the 1700s, Normandy Farm was a state-of-the-art dairy farm offering lodging to travelers and their horses. Well known by its massive barn and three silos that peer over the red and white structure’s metallic roof, the venue has a white wall of stucco-covered stone and peaked gates that surround it.
Normandy Farm Hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has contributed to American history, engi- neering, architecture, archeology and culture spans 300 years and has been a famous Philadelphia-area landmark. After years of restoration and renovation, Normandy Farm was re-opened to the public in 2003 as a full-service hotel, conference center and banquet facility.
Designed by architect Percy Griffin, The Otesaga in Cooperstown was considered a marvel not just for its architectural beauty, sumptuous appointments and army of staff, but also for its engi- neering. More than a century ago when it first opened, The Otesaga boasted 400 windows, a refrigerator cooled with 30 tons of ice, central heating that could be individually adjusted, and a telephone in each room.
Members of the Clark family, who were heirs to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune, conceived The Otesaga and many attractions in
18 November December 2010
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