Riverside Hotel
The pin is a point inside the NPS boundary polygon, not a surveyed location.
Why it's listed
Built in 1888 on French Creek in Cambridge Springs Borough, the Riverside Hotel is a three-story wood-frame resort with a hipped-roof corner tower, bracketed verandas and a shingled Casino wing. Its lobby holds a grand staircase and an original reception desk, and the dining room has a curved leaded cut-glass window about 42 feet long. The hotel grew out of the mineral spring discovered in 1859 by Dr. John H. Gray, whose water he later claimed cured dyspepsia, rheumatism and gout. Gray's Mineral Fountain Company contracted H. B. Wilbur to build the sanitarium, which opened in 1888 after construction delays. It is significant as a surviving example of the health resorts that followed the mineral water craze, a movement that declined after medical criticism and federal pressure in the 1900s and 1920s. William Baird, a former bridge builder, bought the property in 1895 and developed it into a successful spa.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues the hotel exemplifies the mineral water resort craze of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was the first hotel in the county designed to provide the full range of cure services. It is also presented as a fine example of 19th century resort complex architecture, and its builder-owner William Baird had a notable engineering career.
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 78002380, listed December 13, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1 Fountain St., Cambridge Springs |
|---|---|
| County | Crawford County |
| Listed | December 13, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002380 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1888 |
| Architect / builder | H. B. Wilbur (builder, contracted by Gray's Mineral Fountain Company) |
| Architectural style | Second-Empire style fireplace; Shingle style Casino |
| Criteria |
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| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State |
| Acreage | 47 |
| Coordinates | 41.80662, -80.05073 (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 78002380.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7338523
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.