Bedford, PA photo tour

[SteelCityRising]

Just noticed that the standard rate at Bedford Springs is $400/night. Ouch!

[Evergrey]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

2.) By "disappointing commercial areas" I suppose you mean big-box stores, strip malls, fast-food restaurants, etc.? If so I'm actually pleased to see that the town proper still looks so charming and vibrant, given its small stature, while competing with this grotesque sprawl on its periphery.

Every town has "disappointing commercial areas" on the outskirts... even the tiniest, most remote places like Emporium or Renovo. I am interested in capturing the "sense of place" of towns, so I will not be photographing ubiquitous McDonalds restaurants, parking lots and gas stations (well, except for Bedford's art deco Gulf station!).

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

3.) Do you, Evergrey, or others have any additional insight about Bedford, Bedford County, or Bedford Springs? I'd be happy to hear it! It might be nice to use this as "home base" to visit Fallingwater, too.

I have no insight on Bedford Springs, but your home in Pittsburgh is closer to Fallingwater than Bedford is. Of course, I suppose you could hit Fallingwater on the way to Bedford... but there's so much to do in the Fallingwater vicinity that you'd probably be better off staying in Uniontown or Somerset... or even camping at Ohiopyle State Park.

But I think Bedford County would offer enough for a small vacation on its own. There's 14 covered bridges throughout the county. Blue Knob, PA's 2nd tallest peak (and IMO more impressive than Mount Davis) is north of Bedford.

http://www.visitbedfordcounty.com/

[ki0eh]

When I was at Bedford Springs (glad I went, but not in any hurry to pay the $$$ to go back) most of the folks there actually seemed to be dot-com people from NoVA in their 30s on a weekend getaway (it was a random late fall weekend), not torn jeans and NASCAR shirts for sure, but more polo shirts and slacks. One of their restaurants is jacket required, we ate in the more casual place which was good although not as good as what they charged. Bedford Springs was one end of the first trans-Atlantic digital signal communication, not sure if that attracts the Fairfax Countians or not. It's done up in a way that oozes history, fairly tastefully, and they didn't kick my daughter out of the historic swimming pool either.

Bedford doesn't get any more big boxy than Walmart and Tractor Supply, but the Turnpike interchange commercial zone is certainly a blot on the pretty countryside (and not as over the top as its neighbor Breezewood) and the "Mile Level" strip (where the aforementioned Walmart and TSC are) is manifestly uninteresting except for the imperceptible name of the township it's in (Snake Spring Twp). It's a hard place to find a restaurant open for Sunday dinner, Ed's at the Turnpike interchange is passable but not worth getting off for unless you were anyway. Some people in Harrisburg (at least the ones who don't confuse Bedford with Bradford, believe it or not that's fairly common) seem to compare Bedford with Wellsboro, but Wellsboro has more going on in terms of stores, restaurants, and outdoor activity (although both share proximity to PA's longest footpath, Mid State Trail Association of Pennsylvania ). Downtown retail is actually stronger in Everett than in Bedford although there's nothing cute about Everett, comparing it to Bedford is about like comparing Lewistown to Bellefonte.

My wife's family has been in Bedford County for eight generations, which seems typical of that locale. One of my grandparents came from Ellis Island first to Broad Top Twp which used to be its largest municipality in population, and an odd corner of the world in more ways than one. Probably for both good and ill the area is 50+ years behind the times. I don't think Bedford is any closer to Fallingwater in driving time than Greensburg is, if you want an old town neither too close nor too far from Fallingwater Cumberland, MD might be a better bet, or Somerset.

[pman]

SCR-supposedly you can get into the springs by appt even if you don't stay so you could stay somewhere cheaper in town or at jean bonnet (which has four rooms still). jean bonnet isn't walkable to much but you stumble upstairs after a good meal

[Ohiogirl81]

Nice pix. When I visit the relatives in Windber, I like to stop in Bedford for some antiquing. Glad to see the beautiful Gulf station is still untouched after all these years.

[escilade18]

This would be the chain area of Bedford, which is right off the turnpike: Bedford, PA - Google Maps
The town itself is beautiful and has a nice historic vibe to it

[goodgirl49]

I really enjoyed these pictures! It shows there are many beautiful, thriving towns in PA. My former hometown of Aliquippa sadly isn't in this category though. I live in CA now, but will have to remember to go to Bedford when I make another trip east.

[Mikelee81]

Bedford is a neat little town. Just like many others, it's an old Industrial, Production-based town that has outsourced a lot of its production bringing in Walmart which has resulted in other smaller places going out of business. They have transitioned to utilize tourism for their economy which has had some bumps in the road. The economy in Bedford is not all that great. Good paying jobs are hard to come by.

It's a nice little rural town to settle though if you have a family and are set up with a good job however.

[PAhippo]

I love those old buildings and that they have been maintained that well.

Maybe next summer for a weekend.........

[ki0eh]

I don't think Bedford had much industry, it's mostly always been the county seat with some travel services from 1750 to today. They got some branch plants post-WWII that have mostly closed. A late arrival and recent departure for offshoring was Cannondale bicycles. Now there's the Walmart distribution center, or if you're lucky, REI's DC.