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\n He points to Lancaster\u2019s roles in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, the abolitionist movement and the rise of American manufacturing, as well as its historic ties to farming.\n <\/p>\n
\n Today, a mix of new museums, walking tours and thoughtfully adapted buildings is shedding new light on that history.\n <\/p>\n
\n But visitors won\u2019t find a destination unduly tethered to its past.\n <\/p>\n
\n Lancaster has evolved into a small, cosmopolitan city with a thriving food, arts and culture scene that draws on its history while continually finding new ways to reinvent itself.\n <\/p>\n
\n By the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Lancaster was a bustling market town that served as a gateway to the West.\n <\/p>\n
\n Surrounded by some of the richest farmland in the region, Lancaster helped keep George Washington\u2019s army fed and equipped, providing everything from food and clothing to rifles and manpower, Englert says.\n <\/p>\n
\n Travelers and settlers passed through regularly, and new opportunities seemed to emerge with every westbound wagon.\n <\/p>\n
\n The courthouse where the Continental Congress met on its way to York is long gone \u2014 it burned down in 1784 \u2014 but traces of Lancaster\u2019s early history remain throughout the city center.\n <\/p>\n
\n Penn Square marks the heart of downtown, encircled by buildings that span centuries of the city\u2019s development.\n <\/p>\n
\n Red brick is everywhere \u2014 underfoot and up the walls \u2014 from stately Georgian and Federal buildings to elaborate Queen Anne facades and Art Deco landmarks.\n <\/p>\n
\n It\u2019s actually remarkable that so much of it survived.\n <\/p>\n
\n During the urban-renewal era of the 1960s and \u201970s, several historic buildings were razed, including the grand Hotel Brunswick on North Queen Street.\n <\/p>\n
\n By the late 1960s, Englert says, public sentiment began to shift.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe city finally said, \u2018No. No more tearing down \u2014 you\u2019ve got to start reusing,\u2019\u201d he recalls of that time.\n <\/p>\n
\n That resistance helped preserve many landmarks that dot the cityscape today, from the Georgian-style Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, founded in 1730, to the former home and studio of Lancaster-born artist Charles Demuth, whose works \u2014 from masterful watercolors to pioneering Precisionist paintings \u2014 helped put his hometown on the art map.\n <\/p>\n
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\n And then, of course, there\u2019s Lancaster Central Market<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n By 11 a.m. on a recent Friday, the soaring brick market hall was all abuzz with shoppers picking up everything from cream-filled \u201clong john\u201d donuts and whoopie pies to soft pretzels, soups, farm-fresh produce, butcher\u2019s cuts, empanadas and locally roasted coffee.\n <\/p>\n \n Established in 1730 as an open-air market before it moved into its current Romanesque Revival building in 1889, it\u2019s the oldest continuously operating public farmers market in the United States.\n <\/p>\n \n More than a place to shop, the market is a gathering place \u2014 somewhere to pick up groceries and gifts, catch up with neighbors or simply see the city in motion.\n <\/p>\n \n And for nearly three centuries, it has remained a constant as the city around it changed.\n <\/p>\n \n Come the mid-19th century, Lancaster had become an important center of abolitionist activity and a stop on the Underground Railroad, thanks in part to its proximity to the Mason-Dixon Line and a fierce community of abolitionists, explains Englert.\n <\/p>\n \n Shedding more light on that period is the new Thaddeus Stevens & Lydia Hamilton Smith Center for History and Democracy,<\/a> which opened in May 2026 after nearly a decade of planning and development.\n <\/p>\n \n Housed within Stevens\u2019 former home and law office, where Smith also lived and worked as the house manager, the museum tells the stories of two prominent abolitionists who made their mark on Lancaster and the country at large.\n <\/p>\n \n Stevens went on to become one of the most influential advocates for abolition and equal rights in Congress, while Smith \u2014 whose legacy is less widely known \u2014 supported his political work as his close confidante and caregiver, all while building a successful career as a businesswoman, investor and landlord.\n <\/p>\n \n Walking through the museum, much of which extends underground, Lancaster\u2019s abolitionist history really comes into focus.\n <\/p>\n \n It\u2019s not a typical heritage house museum but more of an experiential mix of preserved spaces and stories, brought to life through arresting video experiences and audio storytelling.\n <\/p>\n \n Moving through each room, visitors get a clear sense of the risks faced by freedom seekers and those who helped them \u2014 and people like Stevens and Smith helped propel the country toward profound social and political change.\n <\/p>\n \n Fast forward to the late 19th century, and Lancaster staked its claim as a major manufacturing hub.\n <\/p>\n \n Spread out across the city, businesses like The Armstrong Cork Company, Hamilton Watch and the Lancaster Caramel Company \u2014 founded by Milton Hershey before he established Hershey\u2019s Chocolate \u2014 brought the area decades of growth, while the glamorous Watt & Shand department store brought an upscale shopping experience to the heart of Penn Square.\n <\/p>\n \n Like many American cities, though, Lancaster struggled to find its feet as manufacturing slowed in the second half of the 20th century and retail businesses moved into suburban malls.\n <\/p>\n \n Many historic buildings sat underutilized or empty, providing ample opportunities for revitalization.\n <\/p>\n \n A complex of red-brick Armstrong Cork and Kerr Glass factories, for instance, found new life as the handsome Cork Factory Hotel<\/a>, while the Lancaster Arts Hotel <\/a>took a tobacco warehouse dating to 1881 and reimagined it as a boutique hotel and art gallery.\n <\/p>\n \n At Horse Inn<\/a>, diners climb a narrow wooden staircase to what was once a Prohibition-era speakeasy hidden above horse stables, hence the name.\n <\/p>\n \n Today, the cozy wood-clad tavern serves elevated farm-to-table pub fare \u2014 think tenderloin tips and toast smothered in a rich demi-glace, house-pickled veggies and a glorious house burger \u2014 that changes daily, alongside creative cocktails enjoyed beneath exposed rafters and chandeliers made from wagon wheels.\n <\/p>\n \n Even the former Watt & Shand building finally found a new purpose. After the department store closed for good in 1995, the facade was eventually incorporated into a Marriott hotel and convention center<\/a> that opened in 2009.\n <\/p>\n \n It was a highly controversial project at the time, but has since been credited with helping bring visitors and investment back downtown, says Englert.\n <\/p>\n \n And some old buildings are circling back to earlier roots. The soon-to-open Swan Hotel <\/a>occupies a site where Frederick Hubley operated a public house as early as 1784, while local physician Clarkson Freeman built the current building in 1824.\n <\/p>\n \n It housed a tavern and hotel that operated under a series of names before becoming known as the Swan by the mid-19th century, remaining a fixture of Lancaster\u2019s hospitality scene for several generations before shuttering in 1995.\n <\/p>\n \n Following an extensive restoration, it\u2019s on track to debut as an 11-room boutique hotel this November that leans into the building\u2019s heritage and character.\n <\/p>\n \n Elsewhere, preservation efforts saved entire neighborhoods.\n <\/p>\n \n Old Town, a residential neighborhood just southeast of Penn Square, was once a rough-and-tumble patchwork of taverns and brothels housed inside buildings dating to the 18th and 19th centuries.\n <\/p>\n \n By the 1970s, many of those historic buildings had fallen into disrepair, and much of the area was slated for demolition.\n <\/p>\n \n But a group of local investors, including businessman S. Dale High, saw potential in what remained.\n <\/p>\n \n Over the next two decades, dozens of historic buildings were gradually restored, while old horse stalls were converted into garages.\n <\/p>\n \n Eventually, Old Town emerged as one of the city\u2019s most charming and architecturally distinctive enclaves.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was almost bulldozed,\u201d Deborah Brandt, founder of Fig Industries<\/a>, a Lancaster-based branding and marketing studio, tells CNN Travel.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt survived because one person decided it needed to stay and believed he could do something with it. It\u2019s people like that \u2014 private citizens who have invested their own money in Lancaster \u2014 who have driven so much of the change.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n For Brandt, that story reflects something larger about Lancaster.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere are a lot of people here who really care,\u201d she says.\n <\/p>\n \n Brandt experienced that firsthand when she returned to Lancaster in 2000 after a decade working with luxury brands in New York. At the time, she says, many people living in the surrounding suburbs rarely ventured downtown, which some perceived as unsafe.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThey didn\u2019t know what was happening in the city,\u201d she says.\n <\/p>\n \n Brandt began working on a direct-mail campaign designed to bring suburban residents downtown, an effort that eventually grew into Fig Industries and its quarterly magazines celebrating Lancaster\u2019s independent businesses, restaurants and cultural scene.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe realized quite quickly it couldn\u2019t just be an external campaign to get people downtown,\u201d she says. \u201cIt had to be an internal pride campaign, because people here didn\u2019t believe in Lancaster City.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Brandt says the changes happened gradually. By around 2009 or 2010, she could feel momentum bubbling.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cAnd then in 2015-2016, it started to become outwardly noticeable \u2014 people were beginning to say, \u2018Hey, something\u2019s happening in Lancaster.\u2019\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The arts scene was one of the first aspects of the city to take off, says Brandt.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThat was largely because it was inexpensive to live here, and as an artist, you could open a gallery and support yourself,\u201d she says.\n <\/p>\n \n She points to the Fulton Theatre<\/a> on Prince Street as the city\u2019s cultural cornerstone.\n <\/p>\n \n A National Historic Landmark that dates back to 1852, the performance venue stages Broadway-caliber productions alongside children\u2019s programming and educational initiatives \u2014 and it recently underwent a major expansion that included new performance and rehearsal spaces.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIt was always this kind of great little creative hidden secret here in Lancaster,\u201d says Brandt. \u201cAnd now it\u2019s even better after the expansion.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Just up the street, Gallery Row<\/a> \u2014 a short yet charming strip of art galleries and creative businesses \u2014 was established by Gaye and Denny Cox in 2005, creating a de facto arts district for Lancaster.\n <\/p>\n \n Today, the row is home to longtime fixtures like Red Raven Art Company, which opened in 2006, alongside newer faces like Olivia\u2019s Fine Art<\/a> from local painter and textile designer Olivia Stoltzfus.\n <\/p>\n \n In her gallery-slash-studio, which opened earlier this year, Stoltzfus can often be found working on egg tempera paintings or weaving colorful textiles, with her finished works displayed alongside locally crafted woodwork.\n <\/p>\n \n About a block east, Lancaster Art Vault took over a former bank building and debuted in 2024. Now home to two dozen artists\u2019 studios, the creative hub brings people together through rotating exhibitions, events and coworking spaces.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThere\u2019s this heritage of working with your hands in Lancaster,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is a place of makers, and there\u2019s an appreciation for history that you might not find elsewhere.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n You can\u2019t talk about Lancaster\u2019s evolution without mentioning the food scene.\n <\/p>\n \n In the past, if outsiders knew anything about the area\u2019s culinary traditions, it was most likely tied to Pennsylvania Dutch cooking and nearby Amish Country \u2014 often equated with dishes like scrapple, pork roasts, chicken corn soup and shoofly pie.\n <\/p>\n \n While those traditions are still very much a part of the local identity, the downtown dining scene now feels more like a reflection of the city\u2019s growing diversity.\n <\/p>\n \n Newcomers have been shaping Lancaster for centuries. Early European settlers were followed by Mennonite and Amish communities, while more recent waves of immigrants and refugees have arrived from Ukraine, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa.\n <\/p>\n \n In recognition of its efforts to support immigrants from around the globe, Lancaster has been designated a \u201cCertified Welcoming<\/a>\u201d city by Welcoming America since 2019.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThat\u2019s why our food scene is so diverse,\u201d says Brandt. \u201cWe\u2019ve been welcoming, and now there are all these incredible cuisines that didn\u2019t exist here before.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Back in 2005, when Brandt started sending out Fig\u2019s quarterly magazines, she says there were only a handful of restaurants downtown. Today, she estimates there are more than 150 restaurants and cafes.\n <\/p>\n \n Within a few blocks, diners can sample handmade Himalayan momos, Japanese ramen, Venezuelan arepas and contemporary Italian fare.\n <\/p>\n \n At Luca<\/a>, chef de cuisine Nathan Flaim \u2014 a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic award \u2014 turns out wood-fired Italian flatbreads, expertly roasted chicken and handmade pastas made with ingredients sourced from Lancaster\u2019s many farms.\n <\/p>\n \n Meanwhile, Norbu <\/a>serves Bhutanese and Nepalese dishes rarely found elsewhere in Pennsylvania, and impossibly hip Hi-Fi Izakaya<\/a> pairs neo-Japanese flavors, vinyl beats and imaginative cocktails.\n <\/p>\n![\"Lancaster's](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/401a6800.jpg\")
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