Penn-Eben Hotel

Penn-Eben Hotel. . , The three-story red brick Penn-Eben Hotel was the finest example of a "salesman" hotel within the Borough of Ebensburg. With the introduction of the automobile and improved highways, Ebensburg gradually became a point of passage rather than a final destination. Built by Mr. T.V. Hott in 1913, it originally was named the Exchange Hotel. In 1934, the Hott family sold the 37-room building to Elmer Daily, who renamed it Penn-Eben., Prior to the Penn-Eben, Ebensburg boasted dozens of resort hotels which catered to those seeking its cool mountain breezes and refreshing spring water. A guest might stay a week or an entire summer season. Among these notable hotels were the Belmont, Lloyd Springs and the Ebensburg Inn., Mr. Daily was well known for his role as president of the Middle Atlantic Baseball League, which becomes evident in the list of the hotel's famous guests. Among some of numerous baseball players were Cy Young, Honus Wagner, Tommy Heinrich and Lefty Grove. Other guests included the Harlem Globe Trotters, Fritzie Zivic (boxer) and actor Lou Ayers., To staff the hotel, Mr. Daily employed six waitresses, a French chef, two laundresses, bellhops, maids and janitors. The interior of the hotel featured oak; the bar was a mahogany masterpiece and two of the suites were appointed in bird's-eye maple. The dining room seated sixty and the bar in the Tap Room had a running water trough beneath the brass foot rail. The basement housed a fully equipped laundry and barbershop., The famous Penn-Eben Hotel, host to salesmen, dignitaries, sports figures, movie stars and dance bands alke, closed its doors in 1969. The building was razed in 1985., Dave Huber, Historic Ebensburg, Vol. II