Penn State Intercom......April 30, 2001
Historic Nittany Lion Inn
marks its 70th anniversary
By Julie A. Brink
Public
Information
April 29, 1935: "We decided to spend the night here and are enjoying the good inn. Beth still feels quite at home. Hope all is well."
-- scribbled on the back of a postcard of The Nittany Lion Inn.
When The Nittany Lion Inn opened on May 5, 1931, the nation was in the middle of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was in the White House and accounts of the day called U.S. Route 322, the road outside the inn, the Lakes to the Sea Highway.
Now, 70 years later, the hotel that former University President Eric Walker called "Penn State's living room" is celebrating its birthday.
Staff at the inn will serve ice cream and cake to the public from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 4 in the Atrium of the inn on the University Park campus.
The
landmark inn, located on the northeast corner of the campus, is a gateway
between State College and the University community. About 100,000 overnight
guests stay there in a year. The inn has been the scene of countless alumni
reunions as well as a place where many blue-and-white brides have waltzed
the night away at receptions in the ballroom.
Sisters Susan and Mara Berlin, both Penn State graduates and State College natives, held their wedding receptions there.
"I couldn't think of any other place in State College or on campus where I wanted to hold the reception," said Susan, now a resident of Virginia. "TheNittany Lion Inn is Penn State. Sure, it's hokey to say that, but it is tradition."
June Gamble of State College and her husband Hays, both Penn State alumni, spent their wedding night there in 1948. "We were married at 4 p.m. in Brookville and on our way to Doylestown," she said. "It was the ideal stopping place." The marriage stuck. They were married 47 years until Hays, a professor emeritus of agriculture economics, died in 1996.
Many students have fond memories of working at the inn. "It's incredible how many people have worked at the inn as students," said James Purdum, general manager of The Nittany Lion Inn and The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. "At one time, hotel administration students were required to work at the inn as part of meeting their academic requirements for the program. A number of those post-World War II graduates went on to become enormously successful."
The neat white Dutch colonial building with the blue trim cost the University $350,000 to construct and was operated by the Treadway Hotel Corp. during its early days when a night's stay cost $3.50. The University took over operation of the hotel in 1948. The inn is self-sustaining, according to Fran Levin, director of sales and marketing for the past seven years. "No tax dollars or tuition dollars go to its support," she said.
The inn has room for plenty more guests now than it did in the '30s and '40s when the structure had only 75 rooms. Back then, guest accommodations were furnished with a bed, either wooden or metal frame, a dresser, a writing table, an armchair and a lamp. Today the rooms offer amenities such as computer hookups, room service, coffee makers, hair dryers, irons and ironing boards.
From the beginning, the colonial-style inn has been furnished in antiques and quality reproductions. Various publications have described the inn's style as "New England" and "Early American." A postcard from Centre County alumni chapter president John Ziegler's collection shows the Fireside Room, now the Alumni Lounge, furnished with wingback armchairs, candle stands, Chippendale-style chairs and cast-iron smoking stands.
Another undated postcard from his collection shows the interior of one of the guest rooms. Warm light glows through the sheer ruffled curtain on the windows and the double beds are covered with chenille spreads. Patterned wallpaper covers the walls and a fringed shade tops the iron floor lamp. A tall bureau with a patterned dresser scarf and an upholstered chair stand in the corner.
The inn's popularity prompted construction of a second wing in 1954 and a third wing was completed in 1992. The new addition was built for $15 million, according to Purdum. In 1995, the original sections of the hotel were remodeled at a cost of $1.5 million, Purdum added. Today the Inn has 237 guest rooms, 13 conference rooms and a ballroom that can seat 500 for a banquet.
In the inn's early days, a dinner cost anywhere between 80 cents and $1, according to a 1941 menu. The menu featured the basics: steak, veal, fish, cold cuts, roast leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, string beans and fruit salad. Today, the inn is famous for its lobster bisque, crab cakes and its weekend seafood buffet. During busy football weekends, the inn serves about 40 to 50 gallons (800 servings) of the bisque, Purdum said.
After a long dry run, the inn got its liquor license in 1967. Legend has it that the first drink was a whiskey sour ordered by a nun, according to an article in Town & Gown magazine written on the inn's 50th anniversary.
The picturesque structure, nestled among the trees and flower gardens, is a favorite for shutterbugs. Levin said she has a hard time deciding what her favorite time of the year is at the inn. Christmas "is just so beautiful," she said. "Our hotel really lends itself to the holiday. People come and have their picture taken in front of our tree."
Levin finally settled on Alumni Weekend in June. "People are just so thrilled to come back to see Penn State, to see old friends," she said. "They are the happiest group we could possibly have here."
If the walls could talk, they'd have plenty to say. Over the years, the hotel has opened its doors to plenty of celebrity guests. Among them are Danny DeVito, Jack Nicholson, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Britney Spears and Louis Armstrong, Lillian Gish, Helen Hayes, Arthur Godfrey, Jascha Heifetz, and poets Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost. Politicians including Gov. Tom Ridge, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt also have stayed at the inn.
"Billy Joel loves to stay here," according to Levin. "He requests it. His manager calls here directly. Joel goes to the bar, talks to guests. He's very sociable."
Today the inn is a member of the prestigious National Trust Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is one of 145 hotels and resorts in the nation recognized for maintaining its historic integrity, architecture and ambiance.
Not bad for the "living room."
Julie A. Brink can be reached at jab81@psu.edu.