Morning Headlines: Historic William Penn Inn Turns 300 Years Old
Photo credit: Google Street View
A slew of celebrations (including a $10,000 wedding reception giveaway) have marked this week’s special birthday: the William Penn Inn in Montgomery County celebrates its 300th anniversary.
According to its website, William Penn would often go to Gwynedd to see Quaker friends who lived in the area. In honor of those visits, a public house offering food and lodging was established at the site in 1714. In 1827, the property, then called the William Penn Hotel, was granted a tavern license. More from the Times Herald’s Eric Devlin:
“It’s a big deal,” [Peter R.] Friedrich said about the anniversary. “We are the oldest continuously operating inn in the country and Pennsylvania. I bought this place about 33 years ago in 1981 and I had all the intentions of becoming a successful restaurateur. What I did not realize was that in the process, I became the caretaker of a piece of Americana. There are not too many buildings around here that date back 300 years.”
Friedrich is the inn’s current owner and, Devlin reports, a firm believer in the landmark’s continuing existence:
“I think one of the reasons that we have survived the last few recessions and ups and downs is that we’ve always strived to provide a quality product to our guests and we’ve been very consistent in doing just that,” he said. “And always having hospitality in the fore front of what we’re doing. We understand that we’re not plastic surgeons or rocket scientists; we’re in the hospitality business. We seem to be doing that very well, otherwise we wouldn’t have lasted as long as we have … My hope and prayer is that the inn will be around for another 300 years.”
• William Penn Inn celebrates 300th anniversary [Times Herald]
In other news…
• Recent improvements have brightened up Southwark Elementary [Passyunk Post]
• Land Bank holds hearing on strategic plan [PlanPhilly]
• New super Wawa in Bristol Township nearly complete [Courier Times]
• Forget Casinos, Atlantic City Should Go Back to Being a Health Resort [Next City]
• Residences at Ritz Carlton looks to sell unsold inventory [Business Journal]
