State College’s newest hotel opens Friday. Here’s what to expect — and how it’s honoring local history
After 18 months of planning and construction, State College’s newest downtown hotel is finally set to open its doors Friday — and it’s embracing both the history of its building and the community.
With a collage of 40-year-old fraternity formal photos near the entrance, framed Penn State scenes in each of the 72 rooms and a nod to its own building’s history at the front desk, officials involved in Scholar Hotel State College (205 E. Beaver Ave.) hope the area appreciates the renovated building as much as its company president. Gary Brandeis, a 1988 Penn State grad, said he wanted to ensure the rich history of the building doesn’t get lost.
After all, the Glennland Building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1933, the tan-brick building featured the first indoor pool in central Pennsylvania and also included the town’s first public elevator, where young locals often took joy-rides. The former apartment building also housed several famous tenants, such as American poet Theodore Roethke, whom one former poet laureate called “the greatest poet this country has yet produced.”
“This building, and a few others, are the most iconic buildings downtown, and we have to be protective of them,” said Brandeis, the company president who on Thursday sported a blue Penn State hat. “So we took the opportunity to protect it, but reimagine what it could be.”
With different shades of blue dotting the interior, along with fresh paint and tile, little is remaining from the building’s former heyday. But there are reminders of the past everywhere, some hidden and some obvious.
When visitors first enter, they’ll immediately spot a large, backlit print of that famous indoor pool — about the width of two front-desk employees. And something visitors might not spot, unless it’s pointed out, is how the window millwork has all been replaced, but special care has been taken to preserve the same look as before.
“We’ve really tried to carry a lot of the history of the building and the history of Penn State,” added Ron Balle, vice president of sales and marketing.
The Scholar Hotel Group — which also owns Hyatt Place State College, along with properties near Syracuse University and West Virginia University — first purchased the building in August 2019. It had initially hoped to open around Labor Day last year but, due to the pandemic, those plans were delayed.
Still, it’s worked to carve out a niche. The 72-room hotel will cater to those seeking extended stays from two weeks to three months, with 56 rooms featuring kitchens (or kitchenettes), refrigerators and dishwashers and the other 16 more traditional rooms designed for overnight stays.
Some Penn State students are taking advantage of the shortened in-person semester by staying in those extended-stay rooms. Visiting nurses have also inquired, Brandeis said, and his group hopes visiting professors might also stay when things return to “normal.”
For locals, there will be more to come. A bistro called “Social Food + Drink,” with a full-service bar and small-plate dishes, will open around March or April — and can be accessed through the hotel or at the corner of Beaver Avenue and Pugh Street. The hotel will also feature 1,250 square feet of meeting space — with the potential in the future to expand — along with a 24-hour fitness center, 24-hour business center (with printing services) and a 24-hour lobby marketplace.
Unfortunately, the indoor pool hasn’t been operational for decades. It is still technically in the basement, its red-and-blue tiles covered in dust and inaccessible to visitors. But Brandeis is hoping the new business at the old property can create new memories.
After all, the Glennland Building went from being a destination when it was first built 88 years ago into something that most residents eventually just walked past without giving a second look. The indoor pool closed in 1967, within a decade of State College building its first community pool and Penn State christening its natatorium. And, in recent years, the building has mainly served as office space.
“You didn’t really pay much attention to it unless you were going to the dentist or a doctor’s appointment,” Brandeis said. “There was really not retail on the first floor that was open to the public. There was a law office here and a dentist office over there, so it wasn’t a building you paid much attention to when I was a student.
“But, hopefully, that will change now.”
Scholar Hotel State College is part of the Tapestry Collection, one of Hilton’s 18 brands and is included in Hilton’s guest loyalty program. More than five dozen hotels around the world are currently part of the collection, from Paris to State College.
Rates at the local hotel vary based on time and date but, according to the Hilton website, are typically around $150 a night.
