The Riverside Inn Water Tower

A three-story structure with a hipped roof and hooded windows.

In 1859, John H. Gray discovered a spring while searching for petroleum in the village of Cambridge Springs, Pennyslvania.  The village was incorporated into the borough of Cambridgeboro in 1866.  Gray examined the water found in Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1884 and concluded the water of his spring also had medicinal properties.  Gray formed the Gray's Mineral Fountain Company in August 1884 and financed the construction of a sanitorium.  The opening of the Riverside Inn was postponed to July 1, 1888 by construction delays, but was the first hotel built in Crawford county.  Disputes between partners in the company forced the hotel into receivership.  In 1895, the Riverside Inn was sold to William Baird.  Baird also purchased Gray's mineral spring for $60,000.  Cambridgeboro was renamed Cambridge Springs in 1897 to reflect the status of the borough as a spa town.  Baird built a boardwalk from the hotel to the spring in 1899.  Baird's son William Baird, Jr. took over management of the Riverside Hotel in 1910.  A golf course was added in 1913 and was expanded to have 18-holes in 1923.

The Hotel Rider was also located in the borough of Cambridge Springs, Crawford County in 1904.  At the turn of the 20th century, 80,000 visitors came to Cambridge Srpings each year to "take the waters" at the town's famed mineral springs.  Visitors had their choice of more than 40 accommodations, from simple rooming houses for the working classes to grand hotels for the well-heeled including actress, Lillian Russell and "Diamond" Jim Brady along with various members of the famous family by the name of Vanderbilt.  

When the Hotel Rider burned in 1935, The Riverside Inn was the only remaining hotel left from that era in the town's history.  In 1946, Colonel Frank W. Parke bought the entire Riverside Establishment from the Baird family.  He sold it in 1965. In 1988, the U.S. Chess Championship took place in Cambridge Springs at the Riverside Inn.

The Rider Hotel was constructed in 1895-1897 and opened in 1897 on 200 acres overlooking the town. The Rider was the "king of the hill" among several fine hotels in Cambridge Springs including the Riverside Inn and the Barlett.  The Rider had 500 rooms, each equipped with a telephone.  The hotel was later renamed the Vanadium and subsequently was sold to the Polish National Alliance in 1911 to house Alliance College. Unfortunately, the Rider Hotel burned on January 20, 1931.  Insufficient water pressure was a problem in fighting the fire, due to the hotel being located at the top of the hill.  The fire was so bright one could read a newspaper from blocks away!  Students saved their clothes and bedding, but priceless items from Poland perished in the flames.  Alliance College rebuilt its campus on the site and operated until the college closed in 1987.  Today, the buildings now house a State correctional facility for women.

Hotel Rider

Hotel Rider Ballroom

In 1895, William D. Rider, a prominent business man broke ground for the half million dollar hotel and resort known as Hotel Rider.  It opened on May 1, 1897 and was said to have been one of the finest hotels between New York City and Chicago.  It was the greatest single contribution toward making Cambridge Springs a major mineral springs spa. Standing seven stories high overlooking Cambridge Springs you could see at least 25 miles from the roof garden.  The grand lobby could accommodate 1,000 guests and according to an early account the hotel guests could "comfortably mingle".  The Hotel Rider had steam heat, wood-burning fireplaces, stenciled plaster walls and oak woodwork.  There were bowling alleys, billiard rooms, a barbershop, ballroom, theatre, indoor swimming pool and gyms for men and ladies.  Offices for the Postal Telegraph Co. and Bell Telephone Co. were in Hotel Rider.  In 1904, the hotel hosted an international chess tournament.