Penn-McKee Hotel

The Penn-McKee Hotel is a former hotel in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. It is best known as hosting a debate between two future presidents, John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon, in 1947.

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History

The Penn-McKee Hotel, with 125 guest rooms, opened on September 1, 1926, at the cost of $600,000. ¹ Inside were 125 guest rooms, four retail storefronts, three ballrooms, a dining room, and a club room. ⁷ The basement was home to the Victory Lounge, a nightclub. There were talks at expansion in 1927 because the hotel was at full capacity most nights.

The hotel hosted a 90-minute debate on labor debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon in April 1947. ² The freshmen congressmen took an opposing position on the proposed Taft-Hartley Act.

Decline and Closure

By the late 1960s, the Penn-McKee had become a residence hotel, ⁴ and in March 1980, after a television report claimed that the hotel had become the center for drugs and prostitution for the city, it was announced that the Penn-McKee would close by May 1. ⁸

The shuttered hotel was sold for $100,000 to Winters Haven, a non-profit that managed residential facilities and programs for the elderly, in February 1981. ⁴ The company had hoped to turn the hotel into the Community Hotel, a combination emergency homeless shelter, and apartment complex. ⁷ Hotels Winter Haven was the target of the local school district who wanted to see the property put up for a sheriff’s sale. ⁶ The Penn-McKee had been delinquent on $390,000 in federal, state, city, county and local taxes, with the debt accumulating since the 1970’s.

Outstanding bills and back taxes prevented Winter Haven from turning a profit. ⁷ On September 22, 1981, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection but continued to operate until March 20, 1985, when it was filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Winters Haven closed on April 30; at the time, it had 65 residents. ⁷

In September 1987, a developer expressed interest in renovating the vacant building to house retail shops and a personal care boarding home. ⁷ The building was targeted for redevelopment by the McKeesport Redevelopment Authority until the group was blocked in 2011 by a lawsuit from the McKeesport Preservation Society. ³

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Sources

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1. Lytle Jr., W.G. “Industrial M’Keesport Home of Two Largest Mills.” Pittsburgh Press, 24 Mar. 1927. p. 40.
2. Smykla, Margaret. “Debate lives on in history.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 8 Dec. 2011. p. EZ2.
3. “Penn-McKee Hotel Discussed.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 Feb. 2012, p. S5.
4. Ackerman, Jan. “Penn McKee Hotel to be home for elderly.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 19 Feb. 1981. p. 3.
5. “Developer may convert vacant McKeesport hotel.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10 Sept. 1987, p. S4.
6. Ackerman, Jan. “Penn McKee Hotel sheriff’s sale urged.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 Apr. 1981. p. S4.
7. Mason, Felicia L. “Old hotel fades into history.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2 May 1985, p. E2.
8. “Penn McKee Hotel Closing, Official Cites Bad Publicity.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 6 Mar. 1980. p. 3.

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