Summit Hotel

The story

Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com

The Summit Hotel is a historic district at 101 Skyline Dr. in North Union, Fayette County, listed in the National Register in 2005. The hotel building was built c. 1907 in the Craftsman/Mission style, designed by architect J. Edward Keim and built by Hugh Burchinal.

Why it's listed

It was listed under criteria A and C, with local significance in commerce, entertainment and recreation, and architecture, and its period of significance runs from 1907 to 1954, reflecting its c. 1907 construction.

Physical character

The hotel stands on a sandstone foundation with wood walls finished in stucco, under a parapeted gable roof with hipped-roof wings and four-story hip-roofed towers. A 15-foot-deep porch extends across the primary facade beneath arched double-hung sash windows, and the interior keeps a 14-foot cut-stone fireplace and grained cypress woodwork. A 50-room south wing was added c. 1923, a porte-cochere on Pocono sandstone piers was built c. 1960, and the porch was enclosed with an indoor pool built beneath it in 1963.

Historical context

The previous Summit House burned in 1900, the Summit Hotel Company was chartered in 1906, and the hotel opened in 1908 as a year-round resort. Julia Hotchkiss bought the property in 1917, and a ski tow was installed in 1939. The hotel was sold to Maxwell Abbell and Sol Rich in 1946, to Eunice and Donald Shoemaker in 1964, and their daughter Karen Shoemaker took over its operation in 1993.