(Photo Credit: Chris Fiegel)
Champions of history celebrate preservation efforts at Benefactor’s Reception & Awards Ceremony
Bethlehem, PA (December 6, 2025) – Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) recognized Historic Hotel Bethlehem as its 2025 Business Honoree at tonight’s Benefactor’s Reception. “Historic Hotel Bethlehem, a cornerstone of the Main Street experience, has partnered with Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites and many community groups for more than 25 years, strengthening tourism and helping build the vibrant Historic District we know today. It is the prized jewel of Bethlehem’s Main Street, and this award is well deserved,” said HBMS President & CEO LoriAnn Wukitsch.
Bruce Haines, the hotel’s Managing Partner, accepted the award. He said, “It’s truly a privilege to partner with HBMS. They work incredibly hard to preserve our important local history.” Historic Hotel Bethlehem supports numerous community groups and organizations annually. Its recent contributions include support for Historic Bethlehem’s Checking In: Bethlehem’s Alluring Accommodations exhibition at the Kemerer and Moravian Museums and expanded family activities at the 1750 Smithy on Main Street throughout the holiday season.
The hotel, which opened in 1920, is itself a symbol of historic preservation. In 1996, the hotel entered bankruptcy. In January 1998, it closed. A group of local investors, many of them Lehigh University graduates, purchased it soon after to save the building from conversion into senior apartments or a women’s dormitory for Moravian University. Their work restored the hotel’s original character and kept it a fixture of downtown life. In 2002, after a major renovation, the hotel became a member of Historic Hotels of America, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s official program recognizing the country’s most significant historic hotels.
Additional Benefactor’s Reception Honorees
During the event at ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, HBMS also honored a dedicated volunteer, a visual artist, and a blacksmith. “We are also delighted to recognize HBMS supporter and acclaimed photographer Lydia Panas, blacksmith and new Smith of Practice at the 1750 Smithy, Luke Dellmyer, and Sharon Donchez, a dedicated HBMS and Bethlehem Garden Club volunteer whose yearly commitment is vital to the success of the Trees of Historic Bethlehem exhibition,” said Wukitsch.
About Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites (HBMS) is a nonprofit institution that brings to life three centuries of American history. HBMS tells the story of a small town of great influence, home to some of our nation’s earliest settlers, America’s first municipal water pumping system and one of the world’s greatest industrial companies. HBMS is located in eastern Pennsylvania, only a one-hour drive north of Philadelphia and two hours west of New York City. The nonprofit is a partner in Moravian Church Settlements-Bethlehem, the United States’ 26th World Heritage site; an Affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution; and part of Historic Moravian Bethlehem, which is a National Historic Landmark District. For more information, visit historicbethlehem.org.
About Historic Hotel Bethlehem
Historic Hotel Bethlehem, located adjacent to the newest US UNESCO World Heritage Site in the heart of Historic Moravian Bethlehem, is celebrating over 100 years as a community hotel. Guests enjoy the luxury historic destination hotel’s original 1922 elegance in its 125 guest rooms, along with the grandeur of the lobby, two distinct restaurants, two elegant ballrooms and seven meeting rooms. The hotel also offers nine new Extended Stay Suites, an Executive Conference Center, Ladies Boutique Shoppe, Steel Magnolia Spa & Salon, Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop, and the Hotel B Ice Cream Parlor serving Penn State Creamery ice cream. The hotel is affiliated with Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. USA Today named Historic Hotel Bethlehem the “#1 Best Historic Hotel in the Nation” for five straight years 2021-2025. For more information visit hotelbethlehem.com.
