Shawnee Lancaster Resort
The pool area of the abandoned Shawnee Resort in Lancaster
Updated July 23, 2019 | By Matthew Christopher
Built in 1950 just outside Lancaster, PA as the Conestoga Motor Inn, this hotel was also known as Sheraton Conestoga, Conestoga Resort Inn, and Lancaster Farms Resort. In 1986 it was renamed again: the Shawnee Lancaster Resort. Unfortunately the resort was insolvent by 1989 and closed.
After going through several owners with a variety of plans for the property - a Christian conference center, a supermarket or a sanitarium were a few that never materialized - it was eventually demolished in 2008, less than a year after I photographed it. Vandalism and time had taken a heavy toll on the building - nearly every window was shattered, graffiti was everywhere, and it was rumored to be a site of periodic drug parties. I was there by myself but had the uneasy feeling that I was not alone in the building the entire time I shot there, in part due to seeing fresh footprints in snow I knew I hadn't walked through. It was a disappointment when it was demolished, as it was actually a fairly interesting place despite all of the abuse it had taken and I would have liked to revisit it when the weather was warmer. Only the chimneys remain now.
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