Penn Hills Resort

Penn Hills Resort, bubble bath, circa 1970s

Penn Hills Resort was a honeymoon resort located in Analomink, Pennsylvania, in the Pocono Mountains. Founded as a tavern in 1944, the resort grew in the 1960s, with over a hundred rooms in the hotel[1] and a ski resort and golf course on the 500-acre site. Guest villas featured floor-to-ceiling carpeting, round beds, and heart-shaped bathtubs.[2] 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.[3]

Billed as a "Paradise of Pocono Pleasure" and a place of "unbridled passion",[4] 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."[5]

The resort closed in 2009.

Closure

View of the Penn Hills Resort pool, shaped like a wedding bell, suffering neglect after the resort was abandoned. August, 2012[6]

On March 4, 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] The resort's 40-acre former golf course was purchased by Stroud Township and became the ForEvergreen Nature Preserve.[10]

In January 2016, a group of New York investors purchased what remained of Penn Hills for $400,000.[11][12] The property was sold again in mid-2017 for $688,000.[13]

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.[14][15] On December 7 of the same year, the demolition of the former golf club house on the new ForEvergreen Nature Preserve began as part of the creation of the Brodhead Creek Heritage Center.[16][10]

The hotel was the site of Tigers Jaw's music video for "June", from their 2017 album Spin.

References

  1. ^ a b Michael Sadowski, Venerable Pocono resort is deserted, Pocono Record, April 15, 2009
  2. ^ William Robbins, What's Doing In the Poconos, New York Times, April 12, 1981
  3. ^ Worlds Fair Community message board, 2011
  4. ^ Ethan Todras-Whitehill, Where Every Day Is New Year's Eve, New York Times, December 28, 2007
  5. ^ Marta Gouger, New Year's bash of a decade... or 4, Pocono Record, December 31, 2007
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Beth Brelje, Honeymoon is ending at Penn Hills, Pocono Record, April 1, 2009
  8. ^ Beth Brelje, Attempted copper theft lands one in hospital, one in jail, Pocono Record, May 19, 2010
  9. ^ Michael Sadowski, Abandoned Analomink resort remains mostly unsold, Pocono Record, May 4, 2012
  10. ^ a b Strunk, Brianna (2017-12-07). "Demolition Underway for New Heritage Center". PA Homepage.
  11. ^ Kevin Kunzmann, Penn Hills acreage sold, Pocono Record, February 29, 2016
  12. ^ Kunzmann, Kevin (May 12, 2016). "Penn Hills' new owners see opportunity where others see blight". Pocono Record. Archived from the original on July 18, 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Penn Hills Resort Sold!". 3 June 2017.
  14. ^ Transue, Elizabeth (2017-09-04). "Former Honeymoon Resort Catches Fire in Monroe County". WNEP. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  15. ^ "Penn Hills fire under investigation". Pocono Record. 2017-09-05. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
  16. ^ Brodhead Creek Heritage Center at ForEvergreen Nature Preserve

41°03′27″N 75°12′48″W / 41.05750°N 75.21333°W / 41.05750; -75.21333