Commercial Hotel
Also known as: General Pershing Hotel
Why it's listed
At the busiest corner of downtown DuBois, the Commercial Hotel is a four-story masonry building with common brick walls faced in buff Roman brick on its two principal elevations. John H. Bierly, a Lock Haven tobacco merchant, began it in 1888 after a major fire, and it opened as a hotel on March 8, 1889, with fifty-eight rooms. In 1901 Joseph Bensinger bought it and added two stories, the Roman brick veneer, and Colonial Revival detailing, bringing the room count to about 100. Its upper facades survive largely intact from 1901, with brownstone lintels, corbeled brickwork, and a pressed-metal cornice. The hotel was the site of the 1902 organization of the United Commercial Travellers in DuBois and served travelling salesmen for decades. Its continuous use as a hotel since 1889 is the main reason it is considered significant to the town's commercial history.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the Commercial Hotel is locally significant for the commercial and transportation history of DuBois, as the only surviving hotel in the city that has served its original use continuously since construction. It also stresses the building's largely intact 1901 upper facade and its link to the city's early twentieth-century growth. The hotel's operator, Joseph Bensinger, is cited as a leading Pennsylvania hotelman.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85003507, listed November 13, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Long and Brady Aves., Dubois |
|---|---|
| County | Clearfield County |
| Listed | November 13, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85003507 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1889-1937 |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival detailing |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Minimally altered exterior; the 1937 movie house replaced two Brady Avenue storefronts and the first-floor storefront has been altered. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 41.09054, -78.76286 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85003507.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5152499
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.