Hopewell Inn Memorabilia

The Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn building – at 15 East Broad Street on the corner of Seminary Avenue – is being prepped for demolition.

It will be rebuilt as an upscale restaurant and apartments, with a historically familiar design based on the heyday of the building around the 1930s (see MercerMe article).

New design as posted on the exterior fence

The building, long known as the Central Hotel, has a nearly 150 year history as a residential home and store, bar and restaurant, and lodging and apartments. It goes back to Sarah and Susan Ann Sexton, who acquired the property in 1875 after selling their family’s homestead farm and then operated a drugstore there.

See the earlier post and associated History Brief (PDF) for more on the history of the Hopewell Inn / Central Hotel.

Through the kindness of the new owners and the general contractor, we recently had the opportunity to tour the building in order to photograph and save some artifacts of its use as the Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn. These include examples of the building interior, signage and menus, decorative items, and dishware and glassware. (See below.)

== See the Image Gallery for the full set of over 40 Hopewell Inn images ==

Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn signboard (close-up)

Signboard (close-up) – The Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn signboard that was posted on the street in front of the building. It features the iconic logo with a rooster standing among gourds.

(See the full album for other signboards with menus and specials, and other versions of the logo.)

Hopewell Inn dining room teapots and apple basket

Tea Pots and Apple Basket – A collection of the tea pots used at the Bistro, along with with the iconic large basket of apples in the dining room. The apples are stunningly realistic, with different patterns and shades, and complete with stems.

(See the full album for more familiar dishware and glassware.)

Bar & Dining Room signs – Identified the two doors on the front of the building – Left for the bar, and right to the dining room.

(See the full album for other signage.)

Hopewell Inn porch railing “Bud” beer mug

Metal Beer Mug – One of a set of 9 cut-out metal beer mugs that were attached to the front porch railing, decorated with the names of different beer brands – This one is “Bud.”

(See the full album for photos of the full set.)

Pennington Bistro Sign – Sign from the former restaurant of Susan and Paul Molnar, the last owners of the Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn, which they ran before they acquired the Hopewell Inn from her parents in 2000.

And More

See the earlier post and for more on the history of the Hopewell Inn / Central Hotel.

== See the Image Gallery for the full set of over 40 Hopewell Inn images ==

Do you have, or know of, additional images and artifacts of the Hopewell Inn? Please contact us to help preserve and share these and other examples of Hopewell history.

More on the Hopewell Inn – 15 East Broad

The Hopewell Valley Bistro & Inn building at 15 East Broad Street on the corner of Seminary Avenue was demolished in July 2022. Long known as the Central Hotel, the building had a nearly 150 year history as a residential home and store, bar and restaurant, and lodging and apartments.

Hopewell Inn History