Liberty Hall at
The U.S. Hotel
Established 1835

A Brief History

After surviving Indian attacks and upheaval caused by the American Revolution, pioneer Adam Holliday built his homestead on the banks of the Juniata River. Holliday prospered, and by 1796 began laying out a town site – Hollidaysburg.

For years, Hollidaysburg remained small with only a few houses and farms. Then, the 1832 completion of the Pennsylvania Canal opened Hollidaysburg to trade with Philadelphia and the East. In 1834 the Allegheny Portage Railroad connected the canal with the Great American West, creating a need for food and lodging in Hollidaysburg.

U.S. Hotel

The U.S. Hotel was conceived by John Dougherty to accommodate westward travelers with food, lodging, spirits and “entertainment for man and beast” – as signs of the era denoted. By 1837 Hollidaysburg had 14 daily canal boat lines, making the Juniata Street basin the warehousing center for shippers and traders, as well as keeping the Tavern bustling and the hotel rooms full.

On November 29, 1871, the original U.S. Hotel was destroyed by fire, and it was closed for 15 years.

In 1886 Engelbert Gromiller rebuilt the Hotel in its current location, next door to the original, where previously mules were housed. A Brew Master in his Bavarian homeland, the German immigrant established a brewery. A local newspaper accounts the U.S. Hotel had “the best $1.50-a-day house in the Borough”.

In 1905 Gromiller added a cut block barroom to the original brick structure. Still the barroom today, it boasts original relics – a hand-carved mahogany backbar, beveled silvered mirrors, hand leaded stain-glass windows and a brass foot rail where an active water trough spittoon still flows.

During World War II, the Navy set up a radio school on the site, billeted men in the Hotel and used the tiled bar area as a shower room. The Gromiller family sold the Hotel in 1945, and the bar was reassembled. The Hotel changed hands several times over the next half century and fell into disrepair. The deteriorating brewery was destroyed. The Yoder family purchased the U.S. Hotel in 1994 and restored it to its original grandeur.

A Return to the Future

The U.S. Hotel has been closely tied to the history of Hollidaysburg since its founding. The 2002 addition of Liberty Hall marks another historic benchmark for the two. Constructed with authentic Mid-19th Century beams rescued from a barn in Smithton, Pennsylvania, Liberty Hall maintains the historic charm for which the U.S. Hotel has been known for nearly two centuries – while enabling growing Hollidaysburg to host large groups in a state-of-the-art banquet facility with capacity for 300 guests.

The U.S. Hotel has been closely tied to the history of Hollidaysburg since its founding. The 2002 addition of Liberty Hall marks another historic benchmark for the two. Constructed with authentic Mid-19th Century beams rescued from a barn in Smithton, Pennsylvania, Liberty Hall maintains the historic charm for which the U.S. Hotel has been known for nearly two centuries – while enabling growing Hollidaysburg to host large groups in a state-of-the-art banquet facility with capacity for 300 guests.

Thank you for selecting the historic U.S. Hotel and Liberty Hall in Hollidaysburg for your special event. Karen Yoder, the U.S. Hotel proprietor and your hosts, wish you an enjoyable dining experience.

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