The Keystone State stands out in the American experience, providing a unique and pivotal role that brought the states together. Its history—from Civil War battles to farm and industrial development—has also left a legacy of surprising, offbeat and unusual experiences, many of which planners can incorporate into meeting agendas.
Following are several of the state’s most intriguing encounters.
Mutter Museum/College of Physicians of Philadelphia
The College of Physicians of Philadelphia markets to the meetings industry with the tagline, "The Cure for the Common Event."
Founded in 1787, the college is located in Center City and is the nation’s oldest medical society, known as the "Birthplace of American Medicine."
It is home to the famous Mutter Museum. The core of the collection came from Thomas Dent Mutter (1811-1859), who bequeathed his medical specimens to the college.
Included are such oddities as a plaster cast of Siamese twins Chang and Eng, whose autopsy was performed at the college in 1874; the country’s tallest skeleton (7’ 6"); an extensive skull collection; and antique medical equipment.
"We have technologically advanced meeting rooms and get all types of groups, including lots of weddings and bar mitzvahs," says J. Nathan Bazzel, the institution’s communications director. "We can accommodate a reception of up to 800 using all the meeting areas and museum."
Its eight meeting spaces include the Marble Rotunda and Thompson Hall, each seating 150; Mitchell Hall, seating 300; and the Benjamin Rush Medicinal Plant Garden, which can take receptions for 125.
According to Bazzel, the institution also receives plenty of medical meetings business. Fifty percent of meetings business for the entire city is medical- and life science-related, according to the Philadelphia CVB.
Eastern State Penitentiary
Less than 2 miles north of Center City is the Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site (www.easternstate.org), which opened in 1829, closed in 1971, and reopened as an attraction in 1994. It is just five blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Open daily and billed as "America’s Most Historic Prison," the penitentiary gave rise to the "Pennsylvania System" of incarceration, designed to inspire penitence and regret in those convicted.
Private tours are available for groups of 15 or more. They usually last an hour and can be customized around such topics as architecture, religious influence or escapes.
The prison was home to bank robber Willie Sutton from 1942-1946 and Al Capone for eight months in 1929 and 1930. Visitors see the renovated Capone cell, cell blocks, death row, the grounds and athletic fields. About half the property is open to the public and audio tours are available.
"It is very raw and very authentic. You are stepping back in time," says Brett Bertolino, operations director. "Eastern is a stabilized ruin with select renovations. It is rare that people get to have this unique type of experience. It has 930 cells but only a handful are renovated."
Major annual events include the Haunted House for Halloween.
Keystone Castles
In Doylestown, 45 minutes north of Philadelphia in Bucks County, Henry C. Mercer (1856-1930) completed construction on his home, Fonthill, in 1912 and on Mercer Museum in 1916. About one mile apart and open to the public, they were his castles, both built of reinforced concrete.
Near Fonthill, he built Moravian Pottery and Tile Works, now a living history museum operated by the county.
Bucks-born Mercer was an archaeologist, antiquarian and leader in the early 20th century arts and crafts movement.
Mercer Museum houses his collection, which tells the story of human progress in America through objects and tools people used. Among the oldest artifacts are Native American implements dating to 6,000 B.C.
"He was a renaissance man," says Gayle Shupack, the museum’s marketing director. "The Mercer Museum has a lot of weird and quirky things, such as a gallows and other objects of crime and punishment."
The Mercer’s Elkins Gallery can hold gatherings of 150 and Fonthill’s Terrace Pavilion can host up to 36, more when combined with a tent.
According to Shupack, meeting and event space will be increased June 20 with the opening of a new $12.5 million, 13,000-square-foot expansion wing at the Mercer Museum. Included will be a 3,500-square-foot area for traveling exhibits and a 1,000-square-foot learning center.
The addition will allow more of the collection to be displayed. Of the museum’s 50,000 artifacts, around 60 percent are currently on display.
Additional attractions in the area include the James A. Michener Art Museum, the Pearl S. Buck House, Peddler’s Village and the town of New Hope.
Ghosts of Gettysburg
Gettysburg was the scene of more than 50,000 casualties in just three days in early July 1863.
On April 29 and 30, Gettysburg kicks off a five-year commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War’s most famous battle. Special events are being planned for the period.
The Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center is a three-year-old, $103 million facility with event space. The center is a starting point for visitors before they trek out to the battlefields, historic downtown and the Soldiers National Cemetery, where Abraham Lincoln gave his famous address while dedicating the facility in November 1863.
With quaint shops and hometown charm, downtown Gettysburg will make you feel as though you stepped back in time. Many buildings survived the war.
"One of the most popular things of late has been the telling of the stories of civilians during the battle," says Carl Whitehill, media relations manager at Gettysburg CVB. "We have lots of different tours of our historic districts, and the number of ghost tours of the town has grown."
More than a half-dozen companies and organizations are now involved in ghost tours. And there are such attractions as the Farnsworth House, which has an inn and a theater with ghost tours and hunts, and presentations that include the re-creation of a Victorian seance.
Battlefield Leadership Lessons
According to the Gettysburg CVB, the town’s leadership training sets it apart in the meetings and conventions market, and as a "classroom," its famous battlefield gives it an edge.
"With this leadership training, Gettysburg has evolved into a great meeting and conference destination," says Norris Flowers, president of the Gettysburg CVB. "Gettysburg is a place that leaves a lasting impression on people, whether they are families, history buffs or business leaders here for a conference."
Today, three Gettysburg leadership institutes teach the principals of being a leader.
The Gettysburg Foundation, the non-profit partner of the National Park Service at Gettysburg, for example, offers the Gettysburg Leadership Program. Its "In the Footsteps of Leaders" is tailored to the individual needs of companies and organizations—from a one-day experience on the Gettysburg battlefield to a three-day event that includes the military park, the museum and visitor center, Soldiers National Cemetery and the town. Another program examines the leadership styles of Lincoln and Dwight D. Eisenhower, who retired to Gettysburg.
The two others are the Lincoln Leadership Institute and Historic Leadership Training by Tigrett Corp.
Factory Tour Capital
York County is now in its 10th year of its ambitious rebranding as The "Factory Tour Capital of the World." The CVB lists 21 free factory tours in the county, ranging from the Harley-Davidson assembly plant to Hershey’s Chocolate World, 45 minutes away.
For 2011, five more were added. Among them, visitors can now witness state-of-the-art waste management at a modern landfill or see how garbage is turned into electricity at York County Resource Recovery. A creamery, an ice cream company and a soap manufacturer also joined the list.
Food-related places to tour include Revonah Pretzels, Martin’s Potato Chips and Snyder’s of Hanover (enough snack foods on the list for its own spin-off route: the Sweet Treats & Salty Eats Snack Food Trail).
According to Zach Chizar, spokesperson for the York County CVB, the bureau can help put together a factory tour itinerary for groups.
"We’re centrally located—35 minutes from Harrisburg and an hour from Baltimore—and very affordable," he says. "Like our factory tours, our UnCork York Wine Trail, with 13 wineries, is also up there in bringing in visitors."
The Amish Experience
While York concentrates on its factory tours and wineries, the adjacent Lancaster County (www.padutchcountry.com) has long projected its German-speaking immigrant identity and farming heritage. And for meeting groups, there are plenty of ways to experience a culture that retains the old ways.
"Our Amish community and culinary heritage are an integral part of what Lancaster County is and what we celebrate," says Joel Cliff, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Dutch CVB. "We have many offbeat and unique team-building experiences and various levels of getting involved for a more rewarding experience."
The CVB can help arrange tours in three categories, depending how far participants get to roll up their sleeves: behind-the-scenes, hands-on and immersion.
At Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum , groups learn of the evolution of farming while gaining such hands-on experience as hitching up Clydesdales, and with the Amish Experience at Plain & Fancy Farm, groups can participate in an Amish wedding reenactment or tour the farm where the 1985 movie Witness with Harrison Ford was filmed. At Kitchen Kettle Village, participants make their own jam through a program called Cannin’ and Jammin’.
Hershey Farm Restaurant & Inn offers Amish Camp, a program with an overnight stay in which participants get involved in activities ranging from chores with an Amish family to a buggy ride. Verdant View Farm also offers the Farmers’ Apprentice overnight program.
At the Strasburg Rail Road, groups can tour the shop where steam trains are refurbished, or hold functions for up to 20 in the President’s coach. Nearby is the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, with more than 100 locomotives and rail cars on display.
Across from the multi-purpose Lancaster County Convention Center is the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, which recently reorganized its exhibits to expand its event space and also offers hands-on programs.
Off the Beaten Pittsburgh Path
Pittsburgh’s roster of cultural institutions is impressive, with renowned art and history museums leading the list. The Pittsburgh area also has a quirky side.
Billed as the "Most Tasteful Museum in the World," there’s the Big Mac Museum in the suburb of North Huntingdon. Contained within an operating McDonald’s franchise, it celebrates the invention of the famous sandwich in Uniontown, Pa., by Jim Delligatti more than 40 years ago. It features hundreds of historic artifacts and high-tech exhibits, and tour groups are welcome.
Located in Engine House 25, a renovated historical firehouse in Lawrenceville, three miles from downtown Pittsburgh, is the Clemente Museum, packed with memorabilia of baseball star Roberto Clemente of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Engine House 25 also has a winery and a wine cellar and can handle groups of 80 for dinner and 150 for receptions.
Then there’s the little known Bayernhof Museum in O’Hara Township. It was the home of the late Charles Brown, a businessman who collected music boxes and other automatic musical instruments.
North of the city, the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau has a video on its home page focusing on quirky lures such as the town where the 1968 movie Night of the Living Dead was filmed and a brewery in a former morgue.
East of Pittsburgh, Monroeville is a historic town with landmarks such as the Old Stone Church, Crossroads Cemetery, the McGinley House, the McCully Log House and the McGregor Stone Bridge.
Tony Bartlett has been writing about the travel trade industry for more than 20 years.
