Although US Hotel Tavern may not offer lodging, fear not! There are plenty of wonderful options nearby to ensure your stay is comfortable and suitable. For your convenience, we've secured a hotel block at the Altoona Grand Hotel, where you can not only stay but enjoy our after party at the Grouse's Nest!
Block reservations must be made by calling in. There is a discount price for reservations made under "Berrena Carroll Room Block". Unfortunately, no reservations that offer the discount can be made online. *Please note, reservations must be booked by September 19, 2024.
The party does not have to stop at the US Hotel! We are hosting an after party at the Altoona Grand Hotel's bar, the Grouse's Nest! There will be a DJ and late night bar snacks beginning at 10:30 pm. Come have a drink with us!
The historic U.S. Hotel has been a part of Hollidaysburg since its initial conception in 1835. Built by John Dougherty, the building was initially used to accommodate westward travelers with lodging, food, and spirits. Strategically positioned along the western end of the Pennsylvania Canal and the Allegheny Portage Railroad, Hollidaysburg was connected with the Great American West and a vital link in the development of industrializing Johnstown and Pittsburgh. As a result of the completion of the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline through Altoona in 1854, Hollidaysburg’s status as a national transportation center was lost. Yet, the U.S. Hotel survived and continued to service the new railroad industry until it was destroyed by fire on November 29, 1871.
In 1886, German immigrant Engelbert Gromiller, a brewmaster by trade in his Bavarian homeland, rebuilt the U.S. Hotel and established a brewery in the building next door. In 1905, the cut block barroom was added to the structure and still serves as the barroom today. The hand-carved mahogany back bar, beveled silvered mirrors, hand leaded stain glass windows and a brass foot rail, under which is a fresh flow through spittoon, are original to the 1905 design of the bar. The fresh flow through spittoon is a pre-Prohibition relic that can only be found in a limited number of bars in the United States. During World War II, the Navy used the U.S. Hotel as a radio school where the very same tiled bar area was used as a shower room. When the Gromiller family sold the business in 1945, the original bar was reassembled.
The U.S. Hotel changed hands several times over the decades following WWII, falling into disrepair along the way. As a result, the neighboring brewery deteriorated to the point of being destroyed. The beginning of the 21st Century saw the addition of Liberty Hall to the U.S. Hotel. U.S. Hotel Tavern maintains the historic charm of Hollidaysburg.