Penn's_Cave_and_Hotel

Penn's Cave and Hotel

Penn's Cave and Hotel

United States historic place

Penn's Cave House is an historic, American structure. Used as a hotel from 1885 into the early 1900s, it is part of the Penn's Cave & Wildlife Park that is located in Gregg Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania. Now used strictly for the offices of Penn's Cave, Inc., it has not offered overnight or hotel accommodations since 1919.

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This property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

History

The Penn's Cave property includes seven contributing buildings, one contributing site (the cave), and two contributing structures. Penn's Cave House was built in 1885, and is a three-story, seven-bay, frame building with a high mansard roof. It sits on a limestone foundation. It was extensively remodeled in 1938, and again in 1960. A one-story, rear wing was added in 1962, and was a coffee shop for cave visitors until 1980, when the Penn's Cave Visitors Center was built and opened.[2] In 1980, it became a private residence. Its upper floors are used for corporate offices, private meetings and special events.

The cave is a popular tourist attraction and features a natural curiosity with its Trenton (or Beekmantown) limestone formations. The cave measures approximately 1,300 feet in length; the height of the cave roof measures up to fifty-five feet above the surface of the stream which is three to five feet deep throughout the cave.[2] The temperature within the cave remains a constant fifty-two degrees Fahrenheit year round.[3] Penn's Cave Airport is located adjacent to the park.

This property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

Controversies

Eighteen of the twenty-one white tailed deer that were born at Penn's Cave in 2020 died. In 2021, Penn's Cave was fined by the USDA for the deaths of thirty-four white tailed deer, eleven of which were shot. Although several of the deer were killed for "looking sick," there was no prior notification of, or consultation with, a veterinarian as legally required.[4]

  • The former hotel at the cave
  • Cave interior
  • Map of Penn's Cave, October 2010

References

  1. [1]
    "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. [2]
    "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Michael Halm and Gregory Ramsey (1977). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Penn's Cave and Hotel" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-07.
  3. [3]
    "What To Expect & FAQs". www.pennscave.com. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  4. [4]
    "Penn's Cave and Wildlife Park fined $24K for gunning down 11 deer and for the death of 28 others".
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