Travel Surprises

December 14, 2024

While looking for lodging near Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater online, I discovered the South Broadway Manor in Scottdale, Pennsylvania. I preferred not to stay in a motel that resembled a strip mall. I was immediately captivated by the photo of a spacious Georgian home on a hill surrounded by open land. I believed that’s what the surrounding landscape was. But when we arrived at night in the rain, I was disappointed. We drove through a rustbelt town, Scottdale, to find the stately Georgian home on an average-sized lot in a neighborhood of hundred-year-old decaying houses. I admired the photography of how someone captured this manor to make it look so attractive in this modest community.

The interior, however, was far better than expected. I was incredibly surprised when I entered the gorgeously renovated B&B’s lobby. Historical pictures hung on the wall above a comfortable couch, and an impressive chandelier provided light. We met the hostess in the kitchen, who was waiting for us with cookies and lemonade. We connected with her right away. Her voice is full of pride, and she offered a tour of her house. 
Upstairs, she showed us to our room, which was called the “Crystal Rose.” The room included a four-poster bed, a period dressing table, a two-seater couch, a fireplace, and more period furniture. Impressionist pictures covered the walls. Marble and onyx enhanced the bathroom’s elegance. Overall, it was a beautiful bedroom suite that immediately made me feel at home.

We and Pat Hill, our hostess, instantly clicked on a personal level. Her squinting, she explained, was a side effect of her recent cataract surgery. I expressed my admiration for her restored Gilded Age-style mansion. By way of explanation, she recounted her decades-long collection of antique furniture and volunteered to give us a complete tour of the house, room by room. The rooms each had their own unique theme. In the Federalist room next to ours, there were uniforms and an impressive collection of pistols. She explained that her brother was a Civil War aficionado and collected paraphernalia from that period.

We were treated to a sumptuous breakfast in the formal dining room, which had charge plates and a grand chandelier. Guatemalan chef Raffael prepared a hot gourmet breakfast for us, including a selection of fresh fruits. Over the meal, we learned more about Pat’s fascinating life, including her forty-year stint as a ‘fit model’ in Manhattan and her decision to return to her hometown and purchase and renovate the mansion.

When renovating the building, Pat found a stash of pre-prohibition whisky in the basement. The “Old Farm Pure Rye Whisky” bottles were distilled in 1912 and bottled in 1917. To protect a potentially valuable asset, Pat hired a longtime friend to live in and care for the house, with special attention paid to the whisky. However, when Pat moved the cases of whisky later, she discovered that most bottles were empty, consumed by the caretaker. Pat was disappointed by that event, leading her to report the theft to the police. The subsequent trial used DNA to prove the caretaker consumed a quantity of whisky now worth more than $100,000. Fortunately, some bottles remained intact, although Pat does not expect restitution.

Today, a bottle from among the 108 bottles (nine cases of twelve) is valued at $2,500, as Pat found out. But why would anyone have nine cases of whisky in a house, even if it is a mansion I asked? Pat guessed the house’s builder was known for greeting guests with a shot of whisky in the foyer. What a wonderful habit, I thought. I followed up by asking who the original builder of this manor was. It was P. J. Brennan, CFO of the now-defunct Henry Clay Frick and Company.

Upstairs, I found a book with Flick’s biography next to our room. Our hostess, attentive to detail, also included a Frank Lloyd Wright biography alongside Frick’s. Two comfortable chairs were also there, inviting me to sit and delve into Frick’s life. In addition to coffee available all day, a large glass bowl full of mint was next to the books. Yes, we did have a thoughtful hostess.   Over a thousand people in the region worked for Flick’s company at the turn of the century. Scottdale was a booming town built on coal and coke, supplying Andrew Carnegie’s steel plants. Scottdale’s history is rich with turn-of-the-century millionaires and their mansions, some now B&Bs, but the town’s decline followed the coal industry’s downturn, leaving it a rustbelt town. We stayed in one of these renovated mansions built originally by a millionaire. It was meticulously renovated, and it was a treat to stay there.