Valley Green Inn

In the mid-1800s, the valley was changing from an industrial center to a recreational area, and a new turnpike gave people easy access to its beauty. The Valley Green Hotel, built in 1850, provided a place to eat, drink, and rest, and it hosted dances, sleigh parties, and countless visitors. Over time the hotel underwent several renovations, the most significant in 1899, when the Colonial Dames restored the rundown building and added features such as leaded glass windows. The building then became known as the Valley Green Inn. Other inns along the Wissahickon have come and gone, but Valley Green, one of the most beloved places in the park, is still in operation. The long, low building near the inn is a warming shed, where guests could keep their horses stabled during bad weather. The Friends of Wissahickon restored the shed in 1999, using old-fashioned joinery with wooden pegs instead of nails to remain true to the original.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States