Landmark Philipsburg area motel to be demolished after Sheetz purchases property
A longtime Philipsburg landmark will soon be demolished to make way for a new location of one of Pennsylvania’s most popular gas station and convenience store combos.
The Harbor Inn, located mere feet away from the Philipsburg Borough line at 810 N. Front St. in Decatur Township, Clearfield County, was purchased by Sheetz in March from owner Dusan Bratic. It will soon be demolished to make way for a new, larger Sheetz store.
“Sheetz can confirm that it has purchased the hotel property as part of the company’s plans to rebuild and expand its store footprint in the community,” Sheetz Public Relations Director Harry Hammel wrote in an email to the Centre Daily Times on Tuesday. “However, it is still early in the process, and we are not able to share additional details at this time.”
It was not immediately known how much Sheetz paid for the property.
The Philipsburg Journal reported that the existing Sheetz next to the inn at 808 N. Front St. will also be demolished as part of the plans. Those plans were approved in March by the Rush Township supervisors following their approval by Decatur Township’s supervisors. (While the majority of the property is located in Decatur Township, a small portion of the lot is located in Rush Township.)
Decatur Township has not responded to requests for additional details.
The Harbor Inn was one a happening place in the Moshannon Valley. It opened its doors in 1972, quickly becoming a popular destination for those who visited the area during a resurgence of the coal industry, as many mining companies operated nearby, the Philipsburg Historical Foundation wrote in a Facebook post last year.
The Arena Restaurant operated out the inn, which served “incredible prime rib” and had “the best salad bar” in the area, the post continued, and the inn’s Wharf Lounge Bar offered live entertainment each night. The post noted that one local coal company owner regularly visited the inn for lunch in his helicopter.
Perhaps one of the inn’s biggest claims to fame is that it once hosted the tallest Santa Claus statue in the commonwealth, which is owned and maintained by the Philipsburg Elks Lodge & Country Club. Santa’s home is now the Cold Stream Dam and Recreation Park in Philipsburg.
In recent years the hotel fell into disrepair, closing earlier this year, and fencing now surrounds it as it awaits demolition. That could happen as soon as late summer, the Journal reported.