York Daily Record: "Rare" Victorian with Interesting Past

One might say that the writing is on the wall and history is in the air at The Historic York Inn / Smyser-Bair House. As time marches on, the house continues to make history as well as showcase it.

This past week, the York Daily Record published a story accompanied by 35 beautiful photos profiling one of the most unique homes in the city of York: The Historic York Inn / Smyser-Bair House.

The author and photographer for the article was Paul Kuehnel of the York Daily Record. He wrote:

"One of the most interesting details of the ornate Victorian Smyser-Bair House is the simple handwriting preserved throughout the house. The dated, historic, human touches highlight the preservation of the home over its 180 years as an anchor of downtown York at 30 South Beaver Street. Handwriting with dates from the 1880s, 1911 and 1986 can be found in the house from the attic to the basement."

Indeed, although the home is made to live in, peek behind a hanging picture of previous owners from the past two centuries and you'll find handwritten notes on the walls.

He went on to write, "It's rare that a home in York built in the 1830s stands mostly as it was seen in the late 19th Century -- that it was never converted into apartments or was changed by large-scale renovation."

Read the article and see the photographs for yourself at the York Daily Record.

http://www.ydr.com/story/news/2017/01/18/york-victorian-interesting-past-sale/96313100/

Old House Dreams, the blog for people who love historic houses, features a write-up about the Historic York Inn / Smyser-Bair House complete with a collection of fresh photographs.

https://www.oldhousedreams.com/2014/07/24/1849-italianate-york-pa/

York Inn / Smyser-Bair House Made Front Page of The York Dispatch

If you read The York Dispatch, then you may remember the article about The Historic York Inn that made the front page in 2008 shorty after Eric and Nataliya Goodman purchased the historic home. 

The front page headline read: Couple opens B&B in the heart of York.

The story was written by Dispatch reporter Daina Klimanis.

In the story, Daina wrote about the owners’ not-too-long-ago visit to a bed and breakfast in upstate New York, and how the writer-and-artist pair thought owning their own bed and breakfast would be a dream come true.

Then, as though dictated by fate, they found the Smyser Bair mansion up for sale at 30 South Beaver Street – once home to the prominent Smyser family, then passed on through marriage to the Bair family, and eventually opened as a successful bed and breakfast in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Dispatch described the parlor “a soaring room with sky-blue walls, flowing drapes over the windows and hand-carved mirrors leafed in gold Smyser brought back from his Gold Rush adventures.” The story went on to say that “The parlor could be the perfect venue for receptions.”

The story described The Historic York Inn as “good news to the city's economic development office, where officials have long said a bed-and-breakfast would contribute to the city's tourism offerings.”

"It's an outstanding thing for the city," said Kevin Schreiber, coordinator of marketing and economic development for the City of York.

Indeed, it has been an outstanding thing for York. Revered for it's historic preservation, a rare mansion that still stands as a museum to live in the 1800s, the home is perhaps even more outstanding now, with all of the development going on across the street all along the block. 

Read the article at The York Dispatch.

http://yorkdispatch.inyork.com/ci_9310142