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Historic Hotel Bethlehem
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States · Independent · Accessible Luxury
Charles M. Schwab's Bethlehem Hotel Corporation raised this Beaux-Arts house in 1921-22 on the site of the Moravians' 1741 First House, using Bethlehem Steel I-beams, and opened it in May 1922. About 125 rooms remain of the original 200. George Gray painted the murals in 1936 and 1937. The hotel closed in 1998 after Steel's collapse, local investors restored it, and it has been a Historic Hotels of America member since 2002.
- 125 rooms
- Opened 1922
- Neighborhood: Central Bethlehem
About Historic Hotel Bethlehem
- The Golden Eagle / Eagle Hotel occupied the site from 1823; First House of Bethlehem dates to 1741.
- Construction used Bethlehem Steel fireproof I-beams; the hotel opened May 1922.
- George Gray painted the celebrated murals in 1936-37; Amelia Earhart, Churchill, and JFK are among recorded guests.
- An on-site restaurant serves classic American cuisine and a more casual Tap Room for comfort cuisine.
History
The Historic Hotel Bethlehem stands at 437 Main Street in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on ground with more than two centuries of hospitality history, the site of the Moravians' First House of Bethlehem in 1741 and later the Golden Eagle / Eagle Hotel, which opened as a hotel in 1823. In the early twentieth century Charles M. Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel, formed the Bethlehem Hotel Corporation, raised a million dollars in stock, and commissioned a grand Beaux-Arts hotel.
Construction began in 1921 using Bethlehem Steel's fireproof I-beams, and the hotel opened in May 1922 with roughly two hundred rooms, today numbering about one hundred twenty-five. George Gray's celebrated murals were painted in 1936 to 1937. After the decline of Bethlehem Steel the hotel closed in January 1998, but local Lehigh Valley investors purchased it in 1999 and restored it; it joined Historic Hotels of America in 2002 and lies within the Central Bethlehem Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.
The setting
1.2 miles from Moravia College. 6.2 miles from Lehigh Valley International Airport.
Restaurants and bars
- Megabar — Restaurant
- Tap Room — Restaurant
Experiences
- Booze & Boos Cocktail Dinner with Hotel B Ghost Tour — Halloween-night cocktail dinner with Kilimanjaro Distillery, Hotel B Ghost Tour and a menu by Executive Chef Rodney Rivera; ages 21+.
- Musical Sunday Brunch — Sunday brunch with food and beverage stations for all ages and live music, 10 AM to 2 PM.
- Thursday Night Jazz & Music on The Patio — Local musicians perform every Thursday, 6 to 9 PM, alongside the cuisine.
- Liberty and Lanterns — Sold-out event that transformed the hotel into a colonial tavern.
- Revolutionary dinner experience — Dinner experience in Bethlehem commemorating America's 250th birthday.
Open Historic Hotel Bethlehem in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.
More hotels in Bethlehem
- The Sayre Mansion — Independent · Accessible Luxury
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