3 minute read
The Old Newtown Square Hotel Bar –Lost and Found
History Spotlight Written by Doug Humes
Photos courtesy of Newtown Square Historical Society
In 1968, Newtown Square suffered a heart-breaking loss, when the Newtown Square Hotel was demolished… for a bank branch! A hotel and tavern had been at that site since 1788. It was a gathering place for political discussion, voting, dinners and socializing. But in 1968, it was torn down, and a simple brick building was erected on the site. Close to 200 years of Newtown Square history was reduced to rubble and carted away. Not a trace remained… or so I thought until recently.
The 1903 version of the Newtown Square Hotel
In 1903, a red brick Victorian hotel replaced the original stone and stucco hotel, at a cost of $10,000. The bar area was the last affected, and it remained open through the construction. The new hotel had as its centerpiece a beautiful 40’ mahogany bar, complete with brass rail and a mahogany back bar with mirrors. In 1913, the bartender, Frank E. Coyne, proudly posed with his staff behind that bar.
In 1917, Harry Henry bought the hotel – not knowing that on January 17, 1920, Prohibition would go into effect. By January of 1921, Henry had been arrested three times for violating The National Prohibition Act. The strain was too much: He died suddenly at the hotel, in April 1921. His estate sold the hotel to Dr. Edgar Powell in the early 1930s. Shortly thereafter, Prohibition ended. The bar and fixtures became valuable again. The estate sued to get the beautiful mahogany bar back, claiming it was personal property rather than a bar fixture. But a jury awarded the bar to Powell, and it continued in place until 1968.
1968 advertisement for auction of hotel contents
The hotel was sold off in pieces. William P. Mangan, who owned the Drexel Ale House, bought the liquor license, to open up a café in the Newtown Square Shopping Center. The Newtown Square Ale House continues in business today with that license. The hotel’s bar fixtures were sold at auction, and the mahogany bar disappeared into history. It resurfaced on my radar last month, when a Facebook visitor mentioned that she had just seen the bar at St. Peters Village Inn in St. Peters, PA. Another sharp-eyed sleuth provided a photo of that bar – and it seemed a ringer for our old hotel friend. We are now forming a posse to do a road trip to check it out. Join the Newtown Square Historical Society and join us on that mission in 2022. Dirty work, but someone has to do it!
Bartender Frank E. Coyne poses at the new bar with his staff
Kassie Wilkinson, Sarah Welsh and Jen Hamilton are ready to serve you at the old Newtown Square Hotel bar, now at the Inn at St. Peters Village
Photo courtesy of Doug Humes
For more history on Newtown Square, Delaware County, and Newtown Square Historical Society (NSHS) membership information and events, please visit www.NSHistory.org. NS
