Kemp's Hotel

Kemp's Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Kemp's Hotel, December 2012
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Location	East of Kutztown on U.S. Route 222, Maxatawny Township, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°31′48″N 75°45′48″W / 40.53000°N 75.76333°W / 40.53000; -75.76333Coordinates: 40°31′48″N 75°45′48″W / 40.53000°N 75.76333°W / 40.53000; -75.76333
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	c. 1740, 1765
NRHP reference No.	78002344[1]
Added to NRHP	December 19, 1978

Kemp's Hotel is a historic inn and tavern building located at Maxatawny Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was built about 1740, and is a 2 1/2-story, rectangular limestone building. A two-story, four bay, western addition and one-story rear wing was built in 1852. The building has a slate covered gable roof.^[2]

Kemp's Hotel was originally built around 1740 by Daniel Levan, an immigrant from Germany. The home was built along a highway that connected the Pennsylvania cities of Reading and Easton. As traffic grew, so too did the size of his home until finally, in 1765, it opened as the famous Levan Tavern: the first tavern in Berks County. As the years when by, its most famous patrons would be John Adams and George Washington, the former writing about stopping at the tavern in his diary. When Daniel died in 1777, he left the tavern to his son, Daniel Jr., who eventually sold the tavern to his sister Susanna and brother-in-law, George Kemp, who renamed the tavern to the Kemp's Hotel. The building stayed in the Kemp family for around 200 years, when it was sold again, and became the Season's Grille. The restaurant closed in the early 2000's due to the fluctuating economy. After sitting abandoned for many years, in January 2013, Brandi Woodard bought the building and renovated it, restoring it to modern standards while also retaining aspects of its colonial architecture. It reopened in May 2013 as The Yoga House and Nectar’s Cafe & Juice Bar. On December 17, 2014, Brandi Woodard announced that she is putting the building up for sale. As of December, 2021, the building is currently off-market.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.^[1]

References[]

External links[]

• Tree Rings: The Levan Tavern / Kemp’s Hotel
• "Moratorium on demolitions in Maxatawny Township a possibility: Officials could develop plan to protect historic properties, expert says," Reading Eagle, Ron Devlin, September 15, 2012
• Save the Kemp Hotel (Levan House), facebook.com

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