History!

The Hotel Brunswick is located on the historic site of the longest continuous hotel operation in the United States. The property began its rather prestigious career in 1776 when George Hofnagle built a 2 1⁄2 story stone building and opened the “Hofnagle Hotel.” This building served Lancaster as a hostelry for 84 years during which time it changed names and ownership three times (in 1830 to the “Sheaf of Wheat”, in 1839 to “the North American”, and again in 1844 to “The American Hotel.”)

Progress and modernization first visited the property in 1860 when a well-known Lancastrian, Mr. Jay Caldwell, replaced the decaying landmark with an updated 3-story brick building. The new structure was originally named after its builder, but in 1860 “Caldwell House” was sold to the honorable Isaac E. Hiester, who changed the nomenclature to “Heister House.” In 1895, after several changes in proprietorship, Mrs. Lily Eshleman Bates, purchased the property and renamed it the “Imperial Hotel” which was the name under which it operated until it was torn down in 1914 and replaced by the original “Hotel Brunswick.”

Here is the original site of our Famous Hotel Brunswick. This is the corner of North Queen Street and East Chestnut Street, looking South, back towards our Penn Square, from the site of our Lancaster Railroad Station. The trains ran just across the street from our Hotel Brunswick. Many famous visitors would stop on their various journeys and stay with us for a while. Many visiting US Presidents stayed with us and often gave their political speeches from these very balconies. President Abraham Lincoln, James Buchanan Franklin D. Roosevelt, to mention a few.

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The Hotel Brunswick flourished and became one of Lancaster’s finest hostelries until 1966 when redevelopment authorities decided to demolish the building to make way for a still more modern “Hilton Inn.” In April of 1976, after operating under the Hilton name for six years, the hotel was acquired by the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company who retained the Resort Division of HERCO Inc. (formerly Hershey Estates) to manage the property. A decision was made at that time to rename the property the “Hotel Brunswick” after the original Brunswick, which had won the hearts and respect of the people of Lancaster. The property operated under the “Hotel Brunswick” name until June of 2001 when it acquired the “Ramada” flag and was named the “Ramada Inn Brunswick Conference Center.”In February of 2005 the hotel was purchased out of bankruptcy by a California based company and the “Ramada Flag” was removed. The hotel owners decided to keep the historic name of “HOTEL BRUNSWICK”

A handful of spectators gathered the night of May 2, 1967 as workers prepared to commence razing the old Hotel Brunswick, which had been designed by C. Emlen Urban. Demolition began before dawn. A sign, "TEARING DOWN--TO MAKE WAY FOR PROGRESS," attempted to reassure passersby that demolition was a necessary step toward revitalizing the city. Photographs from the Intelligencer Journal, May 2, 1967 and by Ed Sachs, May 3, 1967. Courtesy, Lancaster Newspapers, Inc.

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The downtown location and proximity to the railroad station of these historic hotels made them the center of much social and cultural activity. Various physical features such as steps and balconies were natural points of advantage for those famous personages who stopped briefly on their travels to address Lancastrian street audiences. These included such notables as Abraham Lincoln, who addressed the people of Lancaster from the balcony of the Heister House on February 22, 1861 during a journey from his home in Springfield, Illinois to Washington for his first inauguration. Also, James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the United States was welcomed back to his Lancaster home by a great popular ovation on March 6, 1861. On September 18, 1872 Mr. Horace Greeley, Democratic and liberal Republican nominee for President, gave a campaign speech to the people of Lancaster from this location. The Democratic nomination of General Winfield S. Hancock for President, was first ratified by a demonstration here on June 26, 1880 and ex-president Theodore Roosevelt, addressed a large gathering from the balcony of the Imperial Hotel on April 12, 1912.

These are but a few of the many dignitaries who have enabled the hotels of North Queen and Chestnut Streets to become an important part of Lancaster heritage.