The Black Horse Inn, possibly constructed as early as 1744, is one of the few remaining eighteenth century inns along the historic Bethlehem Pike. It was a working tavern since at least as early as 1805. The Inn has been determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, with periods of significance from the date of the initial construction through 1924. The building remains today much as it did at the turn of the twentieth century retaining a great deal of historic integrity. After 10 years of vacancy, deterioration and threat of demolition, the Inn was recently acquired by the Township of Springfield.

This report is in response to the Request for Proposal, Project Supplement One, and further development of scope during the project kick-off meeting. Understanding the importance of this building, the Township initiated this report prior to the actual acquisition of the property. It is to serve as an Executive Report providing the Township information regarding the existing conditions, treatment recommendations, schematic design and an associated estimate of costs for the exterior stabilization of the Inn; scheduled for completion by January 2005. It also provides preliminary consideration and exploration of re-use possibilities. This is not an in-depth analysis or feasibility study of such uses but rather a conceptual review of the interplay between the building’s spatial constraints, its historic integrity and the relationship with the surrounding development as affected by commercial, township and residential uses. Essentially the report is a summary of the Project Team’s findings during the development of the restoration documents. It includes a brief history, chronology, significant features, condition assessment and treatment recommendations.

For those on a high-speed Internet connection, we have the executive report as a PDF available for download.
Click here to download the executive report - 136 KB

Black Horse Inn Timeline through April 2007

We have made the appendices from the executive report available separately due to their size.

Executive Report

• Table of Contents
• Project Directory
• Introduction
  • Statement of Purpose
  • Scope of Study
• Historical Overview
  • Historic Overview
  • Periods of Significance
  • Building Chronology
• Analysis
  • Condition Assessment
    • Exterior
    • Interior
  • Identification of Significant Features
• Recommendations
  • Preservation Philosophy
  • Treatment Recommendations
  • Preliminary Study of Uses
• Preliminary Estimates of Conceptual Costs

Appendices

• A. Annotated Conditions Drawings
  • North Elevation
  • South Elevation
  • East Elevation
  • West Elevation
  • Section AA, South
  • Section BB, North
  • First Floor Plan
  • Third Floor Plan
• B. Proposed Restoration Drawings
  • North Elevation
  • South Elevation
  • East Elevation
  • West Elevation
  • Section AA, South
  • Section BB, North
  • First Floor Plan
  • Second Floor Plan
  • Third Floor Plan
• C. Structural Engineer's Report
• D. Electrical / Mechanical Engineer's Report
• E. National Register Nomination
• F. Suspected Historical Chronology of Inn Construction
  • Phase 1
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Phase 5
  • Phase 6
  • Phase 7

Please note: in order to view the PDFs, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have the reader installed, you can visit Adobe's website to download the reader for free.