The name is its location - Lancaster's Central Market is literally at the city's logistical nexus across from the Marriott, though that's only half its story. Stepping inside as I did several times throughout the weekend, I discover the meats and cheese, hustle/farmer's greens, bakery bustle of this, the oldest continuously operating market in the country.
What truly makes this vendor-filled venue so special is its aged wonderment - sev- eral stand holders have been selling here for over a century. Every stall has its own interesting story.
As I'm eyeing jars of jams, a local who's buying fresh flowers for his wife begins to chat with me. Out of the blue he asks me if I'm a runner (I guess therein an unspoken bond between us pavement pounders, or maybe Its my skinny ankles), and when I tell him I am, Geoff invites me to join him the next morning for a jog. "Maybe I'll see you here at 5:30 am.”
"Uh, sure" I say rather doubtfully, if not dubiously.
Later...Here’s an Alan-ism I prescribe to: “A city is only as great as its beer.”
I duck in and try a sampler, marveling at the plucky piquant flavoring of the Mango IPA, and I also imbibe their Imperial Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout (To my mind, the Reese's Cup of brewskies). Indeed, this must be a great city, because its beer is awesome.
Now, back on the street (and to walk off those suds), I go for a tour of several notable event spaces. therein the Fulton Theatre - America's oldest continuously operating theater with its Grand Dame they-don't-make-them-like-this-anymore orate-ness. The large lobby is a salon festooned with old movie and show posters, a regal space that can accom- modate a variety of stand-up groups.
Down the block I amble on to the Ware Center, which is an artistic hub here, playing host to over 100 different events in spaces of varying scale and scope. The nearby Pennsylvania College of Art and Design in the heart of the Gallery District provides visual inspirations from works encompassing the spectrum of the imagination.
Of note: This city is within just a few hours of points everywhere in the Mid- Atlantic. The trek from my own home took me the same amount of time as it would to wheel into Center City Philadelphia, with much less traffic, easy-to-navigate streets and light-on- the-wallet garage and street parking.
I drive my car out of the parking garage and within 15 minutes I am at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton - Lancaster, a top meeting option for planners.
Along with nearby craft brewers, Stoudt's and Lancaster Brewing Company, there is a newcomer of note in this town - Springhouse Brewing Company. Through ales and lagers of exceptional quality, Springhouse is becoming a malt-and-hoppy force to be reckoned with; it also operates Springhouse Taproom, which is adjacent to the Central Market in the heart of it all.
76 May June 2012
Then I head on over to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania which, quite honestly, I had already begun readying myself for expecting a yawn-inducing
experience.Trains. Oh, great.
Then, the opposite occurs. Those 100 hulking locomotives in all their historically significant magnificence - they really move me.
Situated in a late-19th century recreation of a train shed, boasting a real Pullman car, a 1950s Whisper-liner and old iron-
sided steam locomotives, the Railroad Museum harkens back to life along the line, one train at a time. Even cooler is the notion of attending an event amid all that steel and iron. A very impressive venue!
Lunchtime...
"DJ's Taste of the ‘50s" is as fun and as kitschy as it sounds, a "Happy Days" place in all its chrome, neon and checkerboard floor glory. It is an Eisenhowerian setting if ever there was one, and with yummy burgers, fries, hot- dogs and shakes to match. Rather than being gimmicky, though, DJ's be-bop- ping atmosphere and living-up-to-the- era fare is definitely a fun lunch sojourn.
Back in the city and walking through the beautiful spring day and up funky North Queen Street, I take in the total gentrifi- cation of Lancaster, how it has strands of human DNA as its heart. PA College of Art & Design and Franklin & Marshall college students intermingle and strut to their respective iPod soundtracks; med school interns from Lancaster County General chat with gallery owning trans- plants from Soho and Chelsea (who obviously are clued-in to this town's ever-rising hip factor), and 50- and 60- somethings saunter athletically by and past those gawking tourists.
I duck into the Demuth Museum, former home and current gallery to the works of Modernist artist Charles Demuth, a charming and genteel location for small- er business gatherings and social affairs throughout several tasteful spaces and along the secluded outdoor garden.
Dinnertime...
The Lancaster Arts Hotel redefines lodg- ing and dining through its refreshingly simplistic yet ultra-stylized motif within an old tobacco factory. Now the stony walls and wooden beams hold 63 bold- ly-decorated guest rooms (the afore- mentioned Lady Gaga has been a guest and so has Tony Bennett), small corpo- rate meeting rooms (40 and 50 persons respectively), $300,000 worth of art work, and John J. Jefferies, considered
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