This is pretty cool!!! It's nice to see that a historic landmark was saved and also that tourism is getting big enough here (South Central PA) and more B&Bs can be supported.
Baker House given another transformation
Saturday, November 27, 2004
BY JOHN LUCIEW
Of The Patriot-News
It's been a doctor's office, a lawyer's office and home to the United Way of the Capital Region.
Now, the Baker House along North Front Street will play host to weddings, corporate meetings, celebrations and weekend getaways as Harrisburg's only bed-and-breakfast.
Sean Adams and Robin Clemens bought the 1920s house and grounds at 2701 N. Front St. this fall after securing a city zoning variance that cleared the way for a bed-and-breakfast.
They are renovating the 8,500-square-foot L-shaped mansion for a planned opening in mid-2005.
Their business plan is to expand upon the bed-and-breakfast model by turning their home into more than just a weekend romantic retreat.
They said the spaciousness of the mansion and its lawn overlooking the Susquehanna River make it an ideal spot for weddings, parties, banquets and corporate meetings and retreats.
The engaged couple plan to be their first clients by holding their wedding there this spring.
"We want to have the first wedding here," Adams said. "It will be like doing our own advertising."
In fact, the couple took the money they were saving to hold their nuptials at an inn in Maryland and put it toward their down payment on the property at Front and Wiconisco streets.
"The idea popped into our heads, and we kept coming back to this property," Clemens said.
Adams' family is in the bed-and-breakfast business, and his brother is on the staff of the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association.
The couple's plans for the mansion are in keeping with the current trend in the bed-and-breakfast business, said Chris Weidenhammer, vice president of the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association.
"Bed-and-breakfasts have become more specialized," he said. "There is an opportunity in what they are trying to do, in as far as the corporate meetings, the weddings and the banquets. They have a good idea there."
This is despite the fact that Harrisburg may not be the first place people think of for bed-and-breakfasts, which now number about 860 across Pennsylvania, according to the association.
A few past ventures in the city quickly went out of business, officials said.
That's because most bed-and-breakfasts tend to thrive in more tourism-driven markets, such as New Hope in Bucks County, the Amish areas of Lancaster County and Gettysburg.
For Adams and Clemens, these facts aren't a deterrent, merely a sign that Harrisburg is ripe. "The market hasn't even been tapped," Adams said.
The Baker House, which dates to the 1920s, was threatened with demolition just a few years ago.
In 2000, its owner, the United Way of the Capital Region, intended to raze the building in favor of a two-story office.
Attorney Ralph J. Baker built the house, which was designed by the Philadelphia architectural firm of Mellor, Meigs & Howe.
The structure is credited by preservationists as one of the few remaining examples of early 20th-century residential architecture that once defined Front Street.
Later, it was owned by Dr. W. Minster Kunkel, who ran an office on the grounds. For a time, U.S. Rep. John Crane Kunkel lived in the mansion.
In 1972, the Kunkel family donated the house to the United Way. The agency used the house until 2000, when a fire gutted the office annex on the grounds. That sparked the agency's plans to raze the house.
Protests from preservationists halted the demolition, and the house reverted to private hands in 2001 when Shawn M. Gallagher and Laura Beth Kelly bought it for their residence.
They sold the building in October to Adams and Clemens for $630,000. Since then, the couple have been ripping up carpets and planning renovations.
The stone house with Tudor revival accents boasts slate and wood floors, castlelike limestone archways, five fireplaces and eight bedrooms. It looks out on a flat, open yard that could hold 200 or more people for outdoor events.
The owners envision at least five guest rooms and a bridal suite in what's called the carriage house. All the rooms will have private baths.
Adams and Clemens will live on the third floor.
When completed, the mansion will be billed as a place to celebrate milestones or hold a business meetings. It could be the scene for fund-raisers, product shows or wine tastings, the couple said.
They envision a media room with the latest in audio-visual and telecommunication equipment for high-tech meetings.
City officials said they like the idea.
"The mayor is both pleased and excited about the prospect for a bed-and-breakfast on Front Street," city spokesman Randy King said.
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