Whispering Sisters Bed and Breakfast to become apartments

A historic building in Philipsburg is set to get a makeover.

Whispering Sisters Bed and Breakfast, the former Rowland Mansion, will be remade into space for six apartments by October, co-owner Cheryl Moran said Tuesday. An online auction of the inn’s contents, which is set for Sunday, will continue until Aug. 30. Hostetter Auctioneers are conducting the auction.

Moran cited her and her husband’s retirement in remaking the inn into apartments.

“It’s easier to take a rent check every month rather than have people in and out all the time,” she said. “The first step is to liquidate the contents and then we need to do some cleaning and then the units will be up for rent.”

The apartments will range in size from 650 square feet to 1,900 square feet. There will be on-site laundry facilities, Moran added.

The 7,988-square-foot building was put on the market in June 2015. Interest never materialized, so Moran and her husband, Larry, explored other options.

The couple opened Whispering Sisters in 2003.

“It’s bittersweet,” Moran said. “The memories of our family, friends and guests and all the activities and celebrations that have happened there — it was wonderful to be part of everyone’s lives.”

The building, located at 126 S. Centre St., was built in 1873 and was the home of Rep. Charles Hedding Rowland, who served in the U.S. House from 1915 to 1919. As part of the Philipsburg Historic District, the building is included in the National Register of Historic Places.

This story was originally published August 23, 2016 at 11:49 PM with the headline "Whispering Sisters Bed and Breakfast to become apartments."