Penn Hills in the Poconos

The Story of Penn Hills

It was called the Honeymoon Capital of the World, the scenic Pocono mountains were seen as a honeymoon haven not far from home by couples who couldn't afford the price of an airline ticket or a cruise. This was, of course, at a time when such means of transport were on the more expensive side, and so an industry emerged as newlyweds and couples alike flocked to the gorgeous Pocono mountains to get away from it all. To meet this demand, resorts began to pop up to cater to this crowd with flashy lovers-themed decor and amenities with one such amenity being the iconic heart-shaped tub invented by Morris Wilkins of the Cove Haven Resort in 1963. And it is one of these honeymoon resorts that this display is about.

The Penn Hills Resort opened as Penn Tavern in 1944 in Analomink just outside of East Stroudsburg. Founded by two Italian-Americans, Frances Paolillo and her husband Charles Paolillo Sr., the tavern was originally designed to be a family destination, but as the couples demographic began outnumbering families, the later renamed Penn Hills Resort began making its primary focus as a lovers' destination in the 1950s. The large property, which the resort only took up a small portion of, was made up of small white cottages along with a larger building that housed the tavern. The resort was split by a creek known as Michael Creek, which fed into the nearby Broadhead Creek, as well as also being divided by PA route 447. In 1953, Charles Sr. died which led to Frances and her son Charles Jr. taking over the reins. In 1955, the area's Flood of 1955 devastated the resort leading to the entire place having to be entirely rebuilt.

By the early 1960s, the resort expanded to include a wedding bell-shaped swimming pool as well as the Pocono area's first indoor ice skating rink, the Pocono Ice-a-Rama, which was open to not only resort guests but also families in the area. Small Italian Mountain Villas as they were called were also built for guests who wanted a bit more privacy. By the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the resort expanded even more. Streetlights from the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair were installed as well as new lodging structures known as the Penthouse Towers, which featured two-story honeymooners' suites, as well as the Riviera, which housed the Poolside Patio Bar and Riviera Towers Restaurant. The small cottages from the 1950s were either torn down completely or were used as outbuildings. Across the street that divided the property was a newly built restaurant building that housed the Candelabra and Garden Terrace dining rooms as well as the Reflections Night Club and Lounge in the basement. The restaurant building also featured common areas for relaxation and socialization.

The resort focused its efforts on being an all-in-one destination and besides fine dining, there were also plenty of sporting activities as well. The resort's nine-hole Evergreen Park Golf Course as well as their "Indoor Sports Arena" were open to guests along with tennis and basketball courts allowing guests to test each other's skills.  

Penn Hills was designed as a year-round destination with guests being able to rent snowmobiles to get around the property. In the later years of Penn Hills, the resort expanded to include the Alpine Mountain Ski Resort and Penn Estates, a community of vacation homes. In the 1970s and '80s, it seemed like Penn Hills was on top of the world yet by the 1990s all of that was about to change. As the cost of exotic honeymoons became more and more affordable, the demand for the Poconos declined, and as such many of the Poconos resorts began closing their doors. With once-booming resorts like the Summit, Mount Airy Lodge, and Pocono Gardens Lodge closing and becoming abandoned, it only seemed like Penn Hill's days were numbered. 

With the resort's failure to evolve and update, the tired and dated resort began declining not only in popularity but more importantly, quality. The buildings themselves were poorly maintained and they were barely updated past the 1980s with carpeted walls, gaudy '70s floor carpeting, and worn furnishings that sent a message that the resort wouldn't make it past the 2000s. And finally in 2009, shortly after the passing of the resort's 102-year-old co-founder Frances Paolillo, Penn Hills in the Poconos shuttered its doors for the final time.

For the first few years, Penn Hills laid dormant. The interior, looking like it did for a period after its final day of operation, began deteriorating at a quicker pace. Yet, by the 2010s, as the resort gained more infamy, urban explorers and vandals made their way into the derelict property. Windows, mirrors, and any glass in sight were broken and the walls were covered in thick layers of spray paint all while nature took its toll on the buildings. 

While the buildings themselves were having it rough, so were the former employees, many of whom were never issued a final paycheck. This was made worse when it was discovered that Charles Paolillo Jr. had been embezzling a million dollars from the resort's pension fund. He was ordered to pay two million dollars in restitution but died before he could pay the sum in 2014.

Meanwhile, as the resort gained more and more attention from vandals, it also gained some attention from the internet with famous urban explorers like Exploring with Josh, Dan Bell, and others documenting the property. After a series of fires that destroyed the main entrance building that housed the check-in desk and indoor pool as well as in 2020 when a portion of the Penthouse Towers was torched and then demolished, the majority of the other buildings were torn down as well. The Ice-a-Rama and the Indoor Sports Arena were also burned down by arsonists. Currently only one of the buildings survives, that being the Riviera towers which may only have a little time left before it too meets the wrecking ball. Today the site of the former golf course is now part of the ForEvergreen Nature Preserve in Analomink.