Park Place (Herdic House)

Although only half its original size, this is still a large building, for each of its two remaining floors are almost fifteen feet in height. This former hotel has four-bay pavilions at each corner, arcaded porches centered on each facade, and a central courtyard. The stuccoed exterior features such Italianate details as sandstone quoins, hood molds, and paired brackets for the roof's eaves. Peter Herdic built the first-class hotel as part of his real estate development in the city's western district. To improve access, he gave the Pennsylvania Railroad land to build a passenger station behind the hotel. In the 1860s, the extensive greensward surrounding the hotel included flower gardens, a fountain, and a deer park. When Herdic went bankrupt in 1878, the hotel was auctioned for $1,200 (barely half of what Herdic spent on liquor for the grand opening party thirteen years earlier). The new owner changed the name to Park Hotel. In 1940, in the process of converting the hotel to a retirement home, two stories were removed and the name changed to Park Home. Fifty years later the building was deteriorating and the home's board of trustees sought its demolition, but in 1993 preservationists went to court to save the old hotel. Three preservation-minded entrepreneurs acquired the building in 2000, renovated it as an office center, and changed its name, once again, to Park Place.