It didn’t take long for the wrecker’s ball to turn a Potter County landmark, Potato City Country Inn atop Denton Hill, into a pile of rubble.
The hotel and restaurant that served the public since 1949 closed in April and was demolished on Wednesday to make way for a new Pa. State Police barracks.
The most recent forecast for completion of construction
is November 2019.
Fate of the current state police station is uncertain.
It is owned by DBC Enterprises, a business entity that was operated for many years by the late Coudersport attorney, D. Bruce Cahilly.
In its early years, the hotel and restaurant functioned as a banquet center, through the combined efforts of the Pennsylvania Potato Growers Assn., packers and related industries.
Potter County’s potato industry was in its heyday and the local fields were being used for experimental plantings and other research.
A potato festival, crowning of a potato queen and other activities gave the business a high profile.
In the decades that followed, Potato City’s hotel and restaurant business relied largely on a tourist trade, including skiers, hunters, snowmobilers and others coming to the area for outdoor recreation.
Generations of Potter County residents came to know it as gathering place for food and beverages, wedding receptions, retirement parties, organization
meetings and other functions.
Sta vam je s tim krompirom danas haha