Penn McKee Hotel demolition starts today

The vacant and deteriorating building was once the center of activity in McKeesport.

The Penn McKee Hotel survived the collapse of downtown McKeesport, decades of vacancy and repeated efforts to save it.

Today, demolition crews will begin tearing it down.

City officials announced Friday that demolition of the former hotel will begin at the Fifth Avenue site using state and federal funding.

The long-vacant building, owned by the Redevelopment Authority of the City of McKeesport, has been at the center of years of debate over whether it could be restored or whether it had deteriorated too far to save.

A hotel built by the community

When it opened Sept. 1, 1926, the Penn McKee was one of McKeesport’s grandest buildings.

Designed by architect Benno Janssen, who also designed Pittsburgh’s William Penn Hotel, the Penn McKee included 98 guest rooms, four storefronts, a coffee shop, dining room and a Louis XVI-style ballroom large enough to hold 700 people and 250 dancing couples.

In 2010, as the city first began discussing the hotel’s future, former McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center director Jason Togyer, for the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and the city of McKeesport, compiled a report of the property.

The Penn McKee was conceived after the July 5, 1923, Hotel Schmidt fire killed at least eight people on Fifth Avenue.

Nearly 660 residents invested in the new hotel through the Community Hotel Co., raising about $700,000 to build what became one of the city’s largest community- backed projects.

For decades, the Penn McKee served as the center of McKeesport’s social and political life.

Future presidents John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon debated the Taft-Hartley Act there in 1947.

President Harry Truman visited several times.

The hotel also hosted weddings, labor meetings, civic events and high school proms.

Togyer wrote that for decades, “if it happened in McKeesport, it probably happened at the Penn McKee.”

Decline and preservation efforts

The decline of the Penn McKee mirrored the decline of downtown McKeesport.

According to Togyer’s report, the hotel began losing business after a Sheraton opened nearby in 1970 with parking and more modern amenities.

A 1976 fire in neighboring buildings further damaged the structure, and by the 1980s it had been converted into housing for elderly and low-income residents before finally closing in 1985.

Togyer’s report argued that the hotel was far more than an abandoned building.

He described it as the center of civic life in McKeesport for nearly half a century and noted that nearly 660 local residents had purchased shares to build it.

He wrote that the ballroom, coffee shop and dining room made the Penn McKee one of the Mon Valley’s most important gathering places, hosting everything from union meetings and veterans groups to weddings, banquets and political rallies.

As recently as 2022, city officials were publicly discussing whether part of the building could be preserved.

According to a February 2022 Mon Valley Independent story, KU Resources representative Dominick Anselmo told the Redevelopment Authority that the building had fallen into “considerable disrepair.”

Anselmo said the south wing and ballroom were “functionally and economically unsalvageable” because of severe corrosion, collapsed floors and water damage, but added that the north wing might still be preserved with extensive repairs.

In that same 2022 MVI report, KU Resources presented three options: leave the building as-is, partially demolish the structure while preserving the north wing or demolish it entirely.

Leaving the building standing was estimated to cost about $1 million in repairs and maintenance. Preserving part of the structure was estimated at roughly $2.5 million.

Complete demolition was considered the least expensive and least risky option.

Former Mayor Michael Cherepko said at the time that the city should “leave no stone unturned” before deciding to demolish the hotel.

PublicSource reported in 2022 that city officials and preservation advocates were discussing ways the building could be reused, including as a smaller hotel, retail space and a museum- style display dedicated to the Penn McKee’s history.

PublicSource also reported that Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh helped secure nearly $1 million in federal and state grants for asbestos and mold remediation.

City shifts toward demolition

By 2024, the city’s position had changed.

At an April 3, 2024, McKeesport council work session, Cherepko said a formal presentation on the Penn McKee site would be made the following month.

At the May 1, 2024, council meeting, architect Jessica Stuck of Stromberg/ Garrigan & Associates said a structural engineer had concluded the building could not feasibly be saved and would need to be demolished.

Stuck also said the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office had determined the Penn McKee was not eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, making it ineligible for historic preservation tax credits.

During that same presentation, KU Resources and Stromberg/Garrigan & Associates unveiled a concept for a new hotel and retail development on the site designed to reflect the look of the original Penn McKee.

Subsequent council agendas and minutes from late 2024 and 2025 included minimal reference to the Penn McKee itself, instead focusing on broader downtown and riverfront redevelopment.

The next major step came Feb. 11, when bids for demolition of the property were opened.

Current Mayor Tom Maglicco’s office announced Friday that demolition would begin today.

Residents remember the Penn McKee

Reaction to the announcement reflected sadness and support.

In comments on the City’s Facebook post, Donna DiGregory said her wedding reception was held at the Penn McKee 50 years ago.

Patty Warren said she had her reception there in 1973, while Marcy Hudachek Cendroski recalled attending St. Peter’s High School proms at the hotel.

Cynthia Gladis-Johnson wrote that she still keeps old photographs of downtown McKeesport and the Penn McKee, including a photograph of Kennedy’s visit to the city.

Others said they were disappointed the building could not be preserved.

Joan Midlo wrote that the Penn McKee should have been saved because of its history and recalled that CCAC once used part of the building when it had a downtown McKeesport campus.

Still, many residents said it was time for the building to come down.

Roberta Doby-Black called the demolition “long overdue,” while George Humphreys wrote that it would be “good to see that go down and some new opportunities take shape.”

During the demolition process, the 100 block of Fifth Avenue will be closed.

According to the mayor’s office, traffic to the Palisades and neighboring businesses will be detoured from Market Street to Ninth Street and then to Joe Bendel Way.