Old meets new

The Lancaster County Convention Center and Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Downtown Lancaster, Pa., boldly incorporates the 110-year-old Beaux Arts façade of the former Watt & Shand Department Store with the 299-room Marriott hotel. The $177-million integrated facility offers a combined 90,000 square feet of meeting space with two grand ballrooms and an exhibit hall, along with meeting and boardrooms, allowing groups of up to 5,000 to meet at the venue. “Meeting planners are amazed by the location, history and meticulous renovations of the convention center and hotel,” says Joshua Nowak, director of sales and marketing for the convention center.
Lancaster is home to the nation’s oldest community of Old Order Amish and a wealth of African-American history. A 20,000-sq.-ft., $20-million interactive museum is in the works to honor Pennsylvania’s Quest for Freedom trail. “The building will encompass the law office and home of Thaddeus Stevens and significant artifacts from the Underground Railroad system,” Nowak says. The museum will honor the African-American journey for freedom from the time of the Underground Railroad to the Civil War. lancasterconventioncenter.com