Riverside Inn (Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Riverside Inn |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Second Empire, Shingle style |
| Location | 1 Fountain Street Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°48′20.7″N 80°3′12″W / 41.805750°N 80.05333°W |
| Construction started | 1884 |
| Opening | July 1, 1888 |
| Destroyed | May 2, 2017 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 3 |
| Grounds | 7.5 acres (3.0 ha) |
| Other information | |
| Number of rooms | 74 |
The Riverside Inn was a famous hotel and dinner theater in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania. It was built in the late 1880s when many people believed that water from mineral springs could help them feel better. The Inn was a popular place for people to visit and relax near these special springs. It was the first big resort built in the area. The Riverside Inn was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, which means it was recognized as an important historical site. Sadly, a fire destroyed the Riverside Inn on May 2, 2017.
What the Inn Looked Like
The Riverside Inn was a large, three-story hotel made of wood. It stood right next to French Creek in Cambridge Springs. One part of the building had a cool, three-story tower with a sloped roof.
There was also another building called the Casino. It was originally separate but later connected to the main hotel. It had a unique style with pointed roofs.
A long boardwalk, about 2,000 feet (610 meters) long, used to connect the hotel to the mineral springs. Today, only the concrete supports of this boardwalk remain. The property also had a tall, three-story water tower with a sloped roof and special windows.
History of the Riverside Inn
The story of the Riverside Inn began in 1859. A man named John H. Gray was looking for oil in a village called Cambridge, Pennsylvania. Instead, he found a special spring!
In 1866, the village became a borough called Cambridgeboro. In 1884, Gray realized his spring water might have healing powers, like the water in Hot Springs, Arkansas. So, he started a company to build a special health resort.
The Riverside Hotel was supposed to open sooner, but there were delays. It finally opened its doors on July 1, 1888. It was the first hotel of its kind in Crawford County. Later, the hotel had some money problems and was sold in 1895 to William Baird. He also bought Gray's mineral spring for a lot of money.
In 1897, Cambridgeboro was renamed Cambridge Springs. This new name showed that the town was famous for its springs and was a popular spa town. In 1899, William Baird built the long boardwalk from the hotel to the spring. His son, William Baird Jr., took over running the hotel in 1910. The Inn added a golf course in 1913, which was made even bigger in 1923.
Around the 1920s, many mineral spring resorts started to close. This happened because doctors and scientists began to say that mineral waters didn't have special healing powers for diseases. The Riverside Inn stopped advertising the health benefits of the springs. However, it remained popular because of its other fun features, like the golf course.
After another big hotel, the Rider Hotel, burned down in 1935, the Riverside Inn was the only one left from that early time in Cambridge Springs. In 1946, Colonel Frank W. Parke bought the entire Riverside property. He sold it in 1965.
In 1998, a very important event happened at the Riverside Inn: the U.S. Chess Championship was held there!
In 2013, the Riverside Inn was even featured on a TV show called The Dead Files on the Travel Channel. The show investigated stories about ghosts or strange things happening at the Inn.
Sadly, on May 2, 2017, a fire started in the kitchen very early in the morning. The fire spread quickly through the old wooden building. By the time the sun came up, the entire Riverside Inn was destroyed.
