“So we always knew that the time was coming for us to get at it the right way.” Starting last summer, she began overseeing plans for another top-to-bottom redo of Congress Hall. Thus began the saga, under Bashaw’s direction, of the decade-long campaign to restore Congress Hall. “I think it could well be that we’re the oldest functioning hotel in the country,” he says. It is, according to Bashaw, maybe America’s very oldest hotel. On her tour, Reilly describes the tangled and tumultuous history of a building that truly has seen it all. That’s because Annie Knight, the proprietor, who owned the place in the early twentieth century, died in 1931. The Congress Hall of the early 1990s was a vastly different place from the way it is today. We’re still here.”, The spirits of the former owners continue to inspire Bashaw, who sees himself as a caretaker. By the middle of the 19th century, Congress Hall had earned a reputation as a glittering refuge for the wealthy. Cape May, New Jersey. Congress Hall Useful Findings Situated steps away from the beach, the Congress Hall is great for that rewarding vacation. Things To Do in Cape May. Knight, who didn’t really want to be in the hotel business, and the year after he takes it over it burns to the ground!”, For Bashaw, who grew up in Cape May and for whom Congress Hall was part of the furniture of his childhood, the people who came before him have created a unique sort of collective legacy, and he sees himself as the heir to all of it. “They wanted to keep their power base,” says Bashaw. The hotel’s gone. The Congress Hall allows guests to walk to Cape May Beach, Poverty Beach and Washington Street Mall. In later years, that building became a Howard Johnson’s, and it is now the home of Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. The hotel is located in the heart of the Historic District, right across the street from the beach and the Washington Street Mall. “He was an accidental preservationist,” says Bashaw. Well, almost, since it does refer to or include two congress members. “I mean, I’m still good for another twenty years or so! Cape May is one of the most haunted places in America and if you get a thrill from things that go bump in the night, this is the place for you. Cape May, New Jersey. Hotel staff gathered on the lawn in 1928. Cape May is one of the most haunted places in America and if you get a thrill from things that go bump in the night, this is the place for you. Other owners dabbled in politics too, including Charles W. Sandman, Jr., a New Jersey state senator who bought a stake in Congress Hall in 1958 and who served as a member of Congress from 1967 to 1975, including a run for governor of New Jersey in 1973. Cape May. Congress Hall had doubled in size and was welcoming guests from around the region, but in 1878 the building was destroyed when a huge fire swept through 38 acres of Cape May’s seafront. “We’re probably the biggest private employer in Cape May county,” says Bashaw, whose Cape Resorts, Inc., last year employed 761 people at the height of the summer season. Colleen Bashaw, Curtis’ sister, is an interior design specialist, and she has had her own firm, Colleen Bashaw Designs, for two decades. Congress Hall, Cape May: czytaj obiektywne recenzje i oglądaj zdjęcia podróżnych. The town was like, ‘We’re losing our identity to this guy.’” McIntire clashed with the city over a number of issues, including beach fees and back taxes, and he frowned on drinking and other vices. There were times when supplies were sparse. Imagine being poor E.C. Congress Hall is a historic hotel in Cape May, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, occupying a city block bordered on the south by Beach Avenue and on the east by Washington Street Mall. Saturday night, I ventured all the way down to Cape May to take the Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tour, the only haunted tour running in the off-season. Are you as spooked as I am? And she’s definitely not in her twenties. It’s a three-foot-wide image of eighty-four members of Congress Hall’s staff—including a laughably distracted tennis pro on the right—assembled on the great lawn. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, the resort was once known as "The Summer White House", and continues to be a welcome retreat for travelers today. Annie Knight, the owner and proprietor of Congress Hall strolls slowly down the building’s central, dark-paneled hallway, guiding guests and tourists through the two centuries since the building was first erected in 1816. Hotel Congress Hall Cape May - 4-gwiazdkowy hotel. In 2001, Colleen joined Curtis in the massive effort to restore Congress Hall to its original glory. Winter Wonderland at Congress Hall - New Jersey's Holiday HQ - Naugatuck, CT - Cape Resorts is operating in compliance with state and federal COVID-19 health and safety regulations. It’s a tour that Reilly scripted, with the help of a few others, and reenacts regularly. Thomas Hughes. It is a contributing building in the Cape May National Historic District. The 4-star property is also a few steps from the Easy Lynne Theater and Cape May State Professional Equity Theater. In 2016, the once-again new Congress Hall is the jewel in the crown of Bashaw’s Cape Resorts empire, including the flagship hotel and its restaurants, the Blue Pig, the Brown Room and the Boiler Room; the Virginia Hotel and Cottages, including the Ebbitt Room; the seaside Beach Shack and the Rusty Nail; the Star Inn; and Beach Plum Farm. It acquired its moniker back in 1829, when the then-current owner decided to honor the fact that its builder, Tom Hughes, got himself elected to the House of Representatives that year, serving two terms. There were slaves here in Cape May County, and the idea that there was slave labor in building the hotel is likely. Just... distance in town. His Christian Beacon had a circulation of 650,000 at its peak, and McIntire’s radio broadcasts had 20 million listeners over 600 radio stations around the country. So the question is, Are we going to be a change agent or not? “I imagined that if she had a sense of humor, it would have been pretty dry. Cape May Tourism Cape May Hotels Bed and Breakfast Cape May Cape May Holiday Rentals Cape May Holiday Packages Flights to Cape May Cape May Restaurants Cape May Attractions Cape May Travel Forum Cape May Photos Cape May Map Cape May Guide All Cape May Hotels; Cape May Hotel Deals; Last Minute Hotels in Cape May; By Hotel Type Cape May Motels Last year, Cape Resorts’ payroll was close to $14 million. President Benjamin Harrison made Congress Hall his summer White House. After a $25 million renovation, Congress Hall finally opened for business again on June 7, 2002. They thought that their town was becoming known as Carl McIntire’s town. 83,875 were here. Cape May is not only the most haunted town in the state, it may be the most haunted place in the country; with real spooky hotels that would make even ghost hunters shudder in fear. Congress Hall is a historic hotel in Cape May, Cape May County, New Jersey, United States, occupying a city block bordered on the south by Beach Avenue and on the east by Washington Street Mall. And he said, ‘I want you to manage Congress Hall for me next season.’”, Bashaw, today, expresses unbridled admiration for his grandfather. This did not stop the visitors from coming and packing out the house. 83,752 were here. For one thing, it didn’t operate on a year-round basis, just in the summer season. Does it have anything to do with Congress? Most of the things experienced were residual hauntings. It was called the “The Big House” and was owned by Thomas H. Hughes. Although this bed-and-breakfast is reportedly no longer open for business, folks who have been employed here or stayed here in the past have said that rooms 4 and 5 are haunted by two spirits. “A quarter century after the country was founded, this hotel was a watering hole, a gathering spot. It was originally built in 1878, but was burned down the following year in a fire that consumed 40 blocks of the city. Saturday night, I ventured all the way down to Cape May to take the Ghosts of Cape May Trolley Tour, the only haunted tour running in the off-season. Follow Us. She was feisty. Although this bed-and-breakfast is reportedly no longer open for business, folks who have been employed here or stayed here in the past have said that rooms 4 and 5 are haunted by two spirits. Colleen and Curtis went through all of the voluminous archives, checked out the furniture gathering dust in the warehouse, and pored over hundreds of photographs of Congress Hall during its multifaceted eras. But at least four U.S. presidents have ensconced themselves in one of Congress Hall’s ocean-view suites, though you won’t find Lincoln, Wilson, or the Roosevelts in the mix: Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, and most notably Benjamin Harrison—who, partisans of Congress Hall are fond of pointing out, settled into a kind of summer White House on the ground floor in 1890 and 1891 while the real White House was being renovated. In 2002, after a decade-long struggle, Bashaw presided over the hotel’s grand reopening, which he and his company, Cape Resorts, Inc., now own. Bashaw, who’d just finished at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, returned to Cape May. And it didn’t work! Needing Ideas for a day trip. Asked where he would like to take things now, going forward, Bashaw grows reflective. Winter Wonderland at Congress Hall - New Jersey's Holiday HQ - Naugatuck, CT - Cape Resorts is operating in compliance with state and federal COVID-19 health and safety regulations. It was originally built in 1878, but was burned down the following year in a fire that consumed 40 blocks of the city. The spacious hall was crammed with the elite of Philadelphia, [with] hundreds of ladies dressed in queenly splendor.”. Carl Curtis McIntire, born in 1902, was a Biblical literalist who in 1936 founded the Christian Beacon newspaper and, the following year, established the Bible Presbyterian Church. In 2003, according to the Press of Atlantic City, Congress Hall was assessed for tax purposes, when it reopened, “at a whopping $11 million;” today, Bashaw says, the assessment for Congress Hall by itself has risen to $28 million. Does the government own it? The structure being celebrated for its bicentennial isn’t, of course, the one first constructed by old Tom Hughes. She got her love of art, architecture and old buildings from her mother, who bought a 200-year-old house in Salem, New Jersey, where Colleen “spent some of my growing-up years,” she says. Cape May Tourism Cape May is not only the most haunted town in the state, it may be the most haunted place in the country; with real spooky hotels that would make even ghost hunters shudder in fear. In a town where history is everywhere, whose sprawling Historic District itself earned the distinction of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Congress Hall stands out as a singular landmark. Windsor? He imparted a lasting set of values to his family, and he remains an inspiration to Bashaw despite his legacy of confrontational politics and radicalism. But you have to think about these things.”, Receive 1 year of Cape May Magazine (6 issues) for $29, Rendering of the original Congress Hall in the 1800s, pre-fire. Answer 1 of 2: Saw this a couple of years ago (during an October trip to Cape May) and wondered if anyone knows it's still offered? It was, in many ways, a labor of love, because he’d grown up there as a kid, swimming in the surf in front of Congress Hall or playing Ski-Ball at the arcade. Stockton? The Cape May residents never thought that the house would be a success and they nicknamed it “Tommy’s Folly.” The house was a simple set up albeit large. The next stop on the tour is the majestic Congress Hall. According … The next stop on the tour is the majestic Congress Hall. Cape May is easily accessible from the Garden State Parkway and the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. Next Post Next 150 Year Old Haunted Light House Cape May. They’re ghosts now, and they haunt Curtis Bashaw. And it’s that building, closer to the ocean and much smaller than its predecessor, which proudly occupies its space at the western end of Cape May’s pedestrian mall today. America's oldest seaside resort providing hospitality since 1816. Post navigation. Citing just one example of the painstaking work that went into the project, after much research Colleen worked up a design for new carpets in the halls, with a newly designed crest, including an image of Annie Knight’s key, and a new, subtly striped pattern for the guest rooms. The third version—whose builders, the Knights, conspicuously advertised to apprehensive vacationers as having been rebuilt out of fireproof brick, not wood!—went up in 1879. Over the years, it had become dilapidated, and it was desperately in need of a roof-to-foundation renovation. He’s looking at opportunities in retail, to help build what he describes as a “vibrant” downtown. Gilbert Ramagosa and Charlie Sandman. “We really didn’t have enough money to finish the building the way we wanted to, in 2001-2002,” she says. All the local ghouls of Cape May will be roaming the streets. Porównuj ceny i przeglądaj najlepsze oferty dotyczące pobytu. “It outlived all of its peers,” he says. Congress Hall Hotel oferuje noclegi o standardzie 4-gwiazdek tuż obok Washington Street Gallery. In 1828 Hughes was elected to Congress, this is when the name changed to “Congress Hall.” By the middle of the 19 th Century Congress Hall doubled in size, but in 1878 the building was destroyed by a fire that devastated 38 acres of Cape May’s Seafront. And so I feel like my job as the current custodian is to lay the groundwork and to make sure that we stay relevant. Congress Hall Hotel listed under Hotels And Motels. There was trenchant opposition from several quarters in town, and a series of lawsuits and political challenges that turned what should have been a two- or three-year effort into something that dragged on from 1995 until 2002. Guests can get to Garrett Family Preserve in 25 minutes on foot. Cape May Tourism Cape May Hotels Cape May Bed and Breakfast Cape May Vacation Rentals Cape May Packages Flights to Cape May Cape May Restaurants Cape May is often ranked among the most haunted cities and towns in America. congress hall: think twice about booking at congress hall!!!!! LEARN MORE. “I’ve never met any of them. Arriving in Cape May soon after the devastating nor’easter of 1962, McIntire built a mini-empire that included the enormous Christian Admiral Hotel, Shelton College, the Lafayette Cottages, the Colonial Star Villa, the building that’s now the Peter Shields Inn, and Congress Hall. In 1816 a simple boarding house opened in Cape May New Jersey. If there were Three Little Pigs involved, and if the Big Bad Wolf used fire instead of huffing and puffing, the pigs could tell you a similar story. 26K likes. Cape May Tourism Cape May Accommodation Cape May Bed and Breakfast Cape May Holiday Rentals Cape May Holiday Packages Cape May Flights Cape May Restaurants Cape May Attractions Cape May Travel Forum Cape May Photos Cape May Map Cape May Guide All Cape May Hotels; Cape May Hotel Deals; Last Minute Hotels in Cape May; By Hotel Type Cape May Motels 24/10/2009. Feb 9, 2012 - This Pin was discovered by The Pickled Preppy. Our street names are ghosts of hotels that are no longer here. “McIntire played [an] underappreciated but utterly crucial role in the politicization of conservative people of faith in the latter half of the twentieth century,” writes author Markku Ruotsila, who inscribed a copy of the book for Bashaw. Browse our accommodations and see what is waiting for you during your next Cape May vacation. “It was hard to prepare,” she says. 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