Home News Scott's Spots: Take A Walk Inside A Giant Coffee Pot

    BEDFORD COUNTY, PA - It¡¯s hard not to notice the oversized coffee pot sitting along Route 30 in Bedford, Pennsylvania.

In this edition of ¡°Scott¡¯s Spots,¡± NBC25's Scott Hershberger takes us inside one of the largest coffee pots you'll ever see.

In the 1930s, the Lincoln Highway was the equivalent of today¡¯s interstate.  The over-sized coffee pot built along its edge served an obvious purpose.

¡°There was no doubt what you could find inside when you drove by the coffee pot.  It was a pretty good guess it was a coffee stop," explained Dennis Tice, the director of the Bedford County Visitor¡¯s Bureau.

The coffee shop was built in 1927, complete with a unique design that was intended to attract the attention of drivers passing by.

Tice added, "Programatic architecture became really big in the 1920s and 1930s as businessmen were trying to figure out how you get people off the road, wizzing by at 25-35 miles per hour.  It was a real problem."

After years of serving coffee, the big pot soon housed a different kind of drink, becoming a bar before closing in the 1980s.  It was then closed for a number of years and fell into disrepair.

The building was later purchased, then moved nearly 200 yards down the road.  It was later restored and now sits beside the entrance of the Bedford Fairgrounds.

¡°A lot of the times, it's one of things that people come to see in Bedford County, but it sort of just adds to the experience.  It's sort of a nice place to get your picture taken in front of.  Do we still get visitors who come to see the coffee pot?  You bet we do," Tice said.

If you're traveling down the Lincoln Highway, the pot might catch your eye.  You may no longer find a refreshing beverage there, but you could get a postcard, a souvenir or a little bit of history in a big coffee pot.

Historians say the coffee pot in Bedford is one of only five remaining coffee or tea pot shaped structures in the United States.