Manufacturer: Syracuse China
User: Shankweiler's Hotels – Allentown and Fogelsville, Pennsylvania
Date of examples: circa 1958 – 1966

Orefield Property

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Notes: In 1905, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson F. Shankweiler entered the hotel and restaurant business in Parryville, Pennsylvania. In 1926, they built Shankweiler's Hotel in Orefield, on route 29, north of Allentown. On June 25, 1934, they opened the second Shankweiler's Hotel on routes 100, 309, and 22 in Fogelsville, Pennsylvania, seven miles west of Allentown. In 1934, the Shankweilers opened a drive-in movie theater behind their Orefield hotel. The Fogelsville dining rooms would often serve between 600 and 700 full-course meals on a weekend. In 1957, Mr. Shankweiler sold the hotel on route 29 but continued to operate the Fogelsville hotel. The Fogelsville hotel closed in 1994 and was converted into a Credit Union facility. The Orefield building was converted into a funeral home in 2010.

Syracuse China produced a china service that is crested "Shankweiler's Hotel" in red script lettering. The rest of the decoration is an air brush-applied red area. The Winthrop Shape plates, platters, and saucers have scalloped edges.  Date code back stamps on known pieces range from around 1958 to 1966.

Sources:
Paheritage.wpengine.com – history by Pamela W. Reilly
The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania – March 10, 1994, article about closing.

For additional info:
Shankweiler's Hotel by Scammell China, Shenango China, and McNicol China
Shankweiler's Hotel 3 by Shenango China

Contributor:
Author and photos: Larry Paul