S. S. Grand View Point Hotel

On U.S. Route 30 near Bedford, Pa, 8mm film of the S. S. Grand View Point Hotel (1932), known as the Ship Hotel because of its shape. Unfortunately, it's closed today. This footage was shot in 1972 by Roger Shaulis.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Ship
• Hotel
• Route
• 30
• Bedford
• Pennsylvania

[drums600]

Sorry, they took away the music track I added (Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf; America by Simon and Garfunkel). I wasnt trying to infringe on music copyrights, I just wanted some audio to make it more interesting since it is silent film.

[drums600]

It was shot without sounds, so it was a lot more fun to watch with the music.

[drums600]

...the year it burned was 2001.

[drums600]

At 2:30 a.m. Friday, October 26, firemen responded to a report that the Ship was in flames. They were too late. The old structure burned so quickly that one fireman described the scene as "like the sun was coming up."

[drums600]

After fifty years of operating a roadside business on the site, Ship builder Herbert Paulson died in 1973. Five years later, his family sold the Ship Hotel for $70,000 to Jack and Mary Loya, locals who lived about half a mile down the hill. The Loyas tried to revitalize the property by renaming it "Noah's Ark," covering its metal surface with brown wood, and adding a petting zoo, but the venture fizzled. The Ship closed to the public in 1987 and soon began to deteriorate.

[sheltiepaws1]

I have some reel to reel film on the Ship Motel from 1968 or 1969, Im going to try to convert it and put it up

Thanks for the memory

[nikkimoll1113]

My great grandfather, Emilio Rosso, was one of the builders of the ship. We never got to see it. Thank you for the footage.

[dirtrokker4]

@denisewinant1 yep, 3 states and 7 counties

[Engineer245]

Was the arson an insurance claim?

[1997FordProbe24v]

@prettyface777 it burned down in 2001

[jotacalvo]

It was a great choice of music. Sometimes I go back to this video while playing "America". Thank you for this post. Hard sometimes to watch. This video is exactly how I remember it. The section in the video of the 7 mile stretch really gets me. I also remember living close to Reel's Corner and dad stopping there for gas, or bowling as a kid at the alley. Wish I had my own video to share of the greatest time of my life...

[restlessacres]

My husband and I did a motorcycle trip on the Lincoln Highway a few weeks back between Greensburg and Gettysburg. We stopped at a few of the "roadside giants" and took pictures....also looked for The Ship Hotel location. We did pull over at this spot but had no idea this was where it was. They should erect a sign or something to mark the location.

[crazyfunkyshoesA]

This is great! It's unfortunate that it burned it was neat!

[TonyDale]

Thank you so much for posting this. We often camped at Shawnee in the 1960s (!) and would often take a much needed rest stop at The Ship On The Mountain! I just just finished reading Brian Butko's book, THE SHIP HOTEL, and was remarkably saddened by the fate of this wonderful roadside attraction.

[ZoranK50]

You may want to contact PBS in Pittsburgh they would probably love to see this footage

[denisewinant1]

We used to pass by there on route back and forth from Stoysyown and Elkland, PA in the late 50's and early 60's. I always wishd that I could stay there, but being one of nine children, that was just a wish. Thanks for the footage. I went down there to visit a couple of times in the 80's and always stopped there to see the view...outstanding! Didn't they advertise that you could see 3 states and a

sh&*load of Counties (can't remember that #)? Sad to hear that it burnt down.