It’s
a cosmopolitan place with its share of Lady Gaga sightings; a refined locale with ladies and gentlemen who go to the theatre, an area replete with lively throngs from Gen-Xers, Baby Boomers and retirees who bop from art galleries to coffee shops, or, sip luscious wines within refined bistros.
Some out-of-towners (like Gaga) stay at trendy-cool hotels, while others, who are locals, live nearby in lofts and town- homes.
This is a place with 18th century archi- tecture that is as commonplace as the modernistic new facades down the block. Fashion shows its seasonal, col- orful couture; that is, if you don't mind an ongoing mélange of collegiates in sweat shirts, farmers in overalls and tourists sporting black socks and san- dals.
This is New York City, right?
Would you believe me if I told you it’s Lancaster, Pennsylvania?
Believe it!
Today's Lancaster is a far cry from the countrified shoo-fly pie, quilt shops, buggy rides, shopping at the outlets and smorgasbord pig-outs of yore. Sure, that bygone homegrown charm still exists all around the county. Today, though, America's oldest inland city is definitely not your granddaddy's Lancaster.
This tidy and easy-to-navigate town has not only paced itself with the times, Lancaster has become downright pro- gressive due to its booming economic, artistic, culinary and architectural renais- sance.
Who'd-a-thunk? But it is true: Lancaster is cool!
Just for the record, and before we begin our tour, let's get one thing out of the way: Pronunciation.
Locals call it "LAN-kiss-ter,” not "Lan- CASTER.”
There, now that we know the lingo, let's find out why the locals love their city and region so much, and how it has become one of the Mid-Atlantic's most exciting destinations for the meetings and events trade.
For decades, Lancaster County was known for its homespun charm, a unique, if odd, combination of touristy stopovers amid an Amish world - the stalwart old order of religious, plain folk who, in fact, shun the trappings of the outsiders.
Yet the gawkers would flock there by the busload to snap their photo, blow by their horse drawn buggies on the way to recreated Amish farms and outlets. Then, in 1988, the movie "Witness" was released and the throngs really started filing in droves.
Meanwhile, the city of Lancaster was going the way of so many other similar PA burgs. An unsavory inner city began to develop. Many locals moved away to suburbia. Its overall Americana character began to ebb away...
That is, until a few years ago when Lancaster's community-minded citizens began to take back and invest in their town.
Historic buildings were refurbished, starting with the one in the center of it all, The Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square. This historic hotel is at the very heart of the city, and with its restored Beaux Arts facade and its soaring antiq- uity-drenched lobby interior (the former Watt & Shand department store, circa- 1898), along with its integration with the adjacent convention center, the property is succeeding in being a revitalizing anchor to the entirety of the scene.
The hotel has a fantastic spa, a tasteful American restaurant (Penn Square Grille)
and a nighttime club called the Rendezvous Lounge, which rages into wee hours like something out of the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas - not what I was expecting from someplace that's situated in the heart of Amish Country!
Realizing the difference between a decent city and one that's a travel-wor- thy destination is in the greatness and accessibility of its convention center. Here, the convention center is smartly integrated directly with the Marriott.
In my travels across continents and into convention centers, I've seen indescrib- ably mammoth ones, "green" ones, architecturally stunning ones, and sure, even a few boring venues.
In Lancaster, theirs is not only utterly usable (over 90,000-square feet of space), it, like the city itself, combines artistic components - with local works proudly displayed throughout. Architectural and historically significant aspects abound, including an original 1804 Federal-style house once owned by architect William Montgomery. Instead of demolishing the structure, or moving it, the site remains in its original location and is set like a masonry jewel in the convention center's curvilinear atrium, while down the hall an actual Underground Railroad stop is proudly displayed, an unearthed historic archive now serving as a permanent display.
No, I've never witnessed a convention center as innovative as this one.
Soon after checking into one of the cleanest rooms I've ever stayed in (way to go, Marriott!), I venture across the street and into...
Mid-Atlantic EVENTS Magazine 75
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