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| -ad in Erie Morning News, July 6, 1968. |
According to the advertisement, the hotel had a fish fry every Friday, and also served breakfast and lunch.
"The Kelso Beach Hotel, a three-story frame structure fronting on Lake Erie near the entrance to Presque Isle State Park, was destroyed Monday night by fire." -News-Dispatch, Jeannette, PA, Tuesday, March 25, 1969.
"The three-story frame hotel, a mecca for tourists, had about 30 rooms." -Reading (PA) Eagle, March 25, 1969.
Drummer Jeff Tune said he played at the Kelso Beach Hotel in the fall of 1974 with Pistol Whip:
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| -ad in Erie Morning News, Friday, September 27, 1974. |
Please help fill in the following info:
1) What year did the Kelso Beach Hotel open?
2) What year did it close?
3) Who owned or managed the hotel?
4) What other names (if any) was this business known as?
5) What bands played at Kelso Beach Hotel? (Things to Come from Albany, NY- 1974; Tunnel, 1974.)
I vaguely recall the Kelso Beach Hotel having some association with rum runners "back in the day". BTW it would be fascinating to research the history of Erie during Prohibition, probably the most colorful and little-known era of Erie history. We know more about Commodore Perry and the War of 1812 than we do of Erie history in the 1930s-1930s.
ReplyDeleteReading Eagle, 3/25/69 -- Kelso Beach Hotel, a "mecca for tourists" with three stories and 30 rooms, was heavily damaged by fire, which "could be seen for miles." $50,000 damage.
It was rebuilt sometime in the mid-70s. I remember it being a gay bar for awhile -- it had some association with the City Squire Club on Brown Avenue, the present-day Lefty's.
Then there's another reference to it burning down in March 1977 (Washington PA Observer/Reporter).
That's what I was able to find. I love what you're coming up with here
Thanks, Tom. so many stories, so little time! I'm looking for snapshots of the Kelso Beach area for another article. Stay tuned.
ReplyDeleteUsed to hang out there to listen to Jon Ims sing in the downstairs bar. A glass of wine cost 75 cents. The bartender, whose name was Irving if memory serves me right, would often make change for a dollar bill by reaching behind the patrons ear to magically produce a quarter. He was a hoot. Love your blog...many old memories have surfaced while reading it. Thanks for all your hard work.
ReplyDeleteI know this is an old post but I just found it looking for Kelso Beach history. I am from Pittsburgh but vacation at Kelso Beach every year for the past 50 years, yes 50 years. My family loves it there. I remember it being a gay bar in the early 1970s when I was a kid. I also remember a mannequin in the second floor window dressed as a British soldier. I remember the loud music late at night when we stayed in a cottage named the "Edgewood" which is next to the Hotel. Years later it was sold and turned into a summer cottage, my parents knew the people who owned at the time but I don't remember their names. I do remember my niece being friends with their daughter who was the same age as my niece. When we stopped renting the "Edgewood" cottage my parents lost touch with the owners and the Hotel has since changed owners I think a couple of times. Funny thing is my family still refers to it as the "Hotel" even though it is a cottage now.What a great place to vacation, we have stayed in so many great cottages there over the years and made some great memories. My parents have since past away but I am so thankful for all the years they vacationed there and all the good times we have shared. Thanks Eric
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