OVERFLOWING WITH HISTORY

THE HISTORY OF URBAN PLACE

If 19th century brick walls and wood ceilings could talk, they would speak a familiar narrative. Enterprise & industry. American vision. An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay. The buildings that make up Urban Place once housed the historic Armstrong Cork and Kerr Glass companies. Today, the complex preserves and honors that history. And it is not just in the architecture, it’s the attitude: honest, authentic, and welcoming.

BUILDING ON
THE PAST

1865: Construction of Urban Place begins for Lancaster Saw, Bark, Spoke & Bending Mill.

1875: Lancaster Cork Company begins production at Urban Place.

1895: Armstrong Cork Company takes over operations producing cork stoppers and bottle caps.

1960s: Kerr Glass Manufacturing purchases Urban Place to manufacture bottles & caps.

2004: The Baldwins, a Lancaster County family, purchase Urban Place and begin its revitalization.

2007: Urban Place welcomes their first residential and commercial tenants.

2009: Cork Factory Hotel and Cork & Cap Restaurant open in Urban Place.

URBAN PLACE TODAY

Cork is impermeable; watertight; solid; and a perfect synonym for the long tradition Urban Place exemplifies in Lancaster. Yet one thing still flows easily through it, and in great quantity: History.

Once home to Lancaster Cork Works, a 19th century cork factory, the buildings of Urban Place have been transformed into a modern 200,000 square foot community primed for staying, gathering, dining, working, living, and celebrating.

Cork is also elastic, boasting diverse and valuable uses. So, too, is Urban Place, creatively reused to offer stylish apartments; modern retail and office suites; a restaurant; event spaces; and Cork Factory Hotel.

But most of all cork is buoyant. The dynamic mixed-use community of Urban Place not only rests atop the industrial giants who helped build Lancaster, but also rises above the typical and is a benchmark in historic Downtown Lancaster.

AWARDS

The Lancaster County Planning Commission granted Urban Place the Smart Growth Leadership Award for large projects within the heritage category, and The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County granted Urban Place the Preservation Leadership Award for restoring the abandoned historic cork factory into a hip mixed-use community.

AFFILIATIONS

As a member of Historic Hotels of America, Cork Factory Hotel at Urban Place is a member of a legendary hospitality family, famous for delivering unmatched quality and distinctive services within a historical setting.