Two landmarks in Quakertown could soon see new life, as members of a local nonprofit seek to restore the vacant buildings and bring more business into the town center district.
With their eyes on the old freight house building and The Eagle Hotel, Rail Yard Society members are in the process of raising the funds needed to restore and maintain the two properties in an effort to further revitalize downtown Quakertown while maintaining its historical character.
The two projects are headed up by Leanna Knight, Rail Yard Society executive director and Quakertown native, and Christopher Labonge, the entrepreneur and developer who owns and manages the Trolley Barn Public Market.
Together the two have come up with a vision to transform the freight house into an event space, and to turn the Eagle into a boutique hotel and cafe?.
“I think it’s going to be great for Quakertown,” Knight said. “The biggest part of this job is helping my hometown to be better; that’s my biggest passion with this job.”
Their mission builds on the latest rebirth of the historic downtown, which began approximately 10 years ago when The Proper Brewing Co. opened in the Palace Theater building along West Broad Street two years after Dimmig Appliance closed, according to Quakertown Historical Society President Christina Landis.
“There wasn’t a real big push for revitalization until Dimmig’s went out and the Proper went in there, and then you started to see more buildings get spruced up and new businesses come in,” Landis said.
Since then, she’s noticed more restaurants and shops opening along Broad Street, which she said she feels helps bring more traffic to the older businesses along that corridor — including Sine’s 5 & 10, which has been a staple of Quakertown since 1912.
“Even if these buildings have a different purpose now, it’s great that the buildings are being used, that they’re still being cared for, and because of that they will likely be there for at least another 100 years.” Landis said.
Old freight house building in Quakertown to be rehabbed
The SEPTA-owned freight house building, located along Front Street and the tracks next to the old Quakertown Train Station, is the first of the two projects that Rail Yard Society members plan to tackle.
Built in 1902, the building stands as a sturdy remnant of the town’s industrial roots. But after decades of being unused and unmaintained, Labonge said the property is in desperate need of rehabilitation to ensure its structural integrity, leading them to petition state Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R-16) for a $500,000 grant to cover a majority of the costs to replace the roof and shore up the building.
“We felt it was an emergency need and would potentially collapse if we didn’t do anything,” Labonge said.
The grant has since been secured and the funds are to be dispersed through the Bucks County Industrial Development Authority. An additional $300,000 is needed to cover the cost of the initial phase of the project, and they hope to begin work within the month, according to Knight.
From there, they plan to raise at least another $1.2 million to preserve the historical character of the building while turning it into a venue that could serve as a formal event space for weddings and also host gatherings for the local residents, such as farmers markets.
“This is a community project where we hope to be able to cover the cost and operate a business that’s going to be sustainable over there, but with it being a community building in my mind,” Labonge said. “So, I’d love to have that be the place where people come to on a Sunday morning and then in the evening hours, it’s something that an event space.”
Restoring The Eagle Hotel into its former glory
The Eagle Hotel, which was built in 1831 and original owned by Edwin Scheetz, has gone through a number of transformations across its two centuries of existence.
In its heyday, the corner hotel with its stately second-floor wraparound balcony — which has since been removed — served as a stopover for visitors travelling between Allentown and Philadelphia.
Most recently, The Eagle Hotel operated as The Local, a neighborhood restaurant and bar that closed approximately 18 months ago.
Once the freight house project is complete, members of the Rail Yard Society plan to focus their fundraising efforts on The Eagle with the hope of turning it into a nine-room boutique hotel with a small cafe? on the first floor.
But their plans are not guaranteed, Knight said, because they’ll need to work with a bank to determine what would be financially beneficial for the location.
“(We’re hoping to) bring it back to that picture of what it once looked like with its wraparound balcony, if possible. If we did that, then we’d consider it a success,” she said.
Reporter Michele Haddon covers local news, small business, food and drink, economic revitalization, art and culture for The Intelligencer and Bucks County Courier Times at PhillyBurbs.com. Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription.