Failinger's Hotel Gunter at the Frostburg Bicentennial Celebration

The Failinger’s Hotel Gunter was one of the many local businesses that participated in the Frostburg Bicentennial Celebration this weekend.  Attendants of the Bicentennial Celebration were welcomed to walk through the historic hotel and view the attractions that it offered. The exhibit’s features spanned from the colorful history of the Hotel Gunter during the Prohibition Era in the basement, to the Doll Room on the Gunter’s second floor. The current owner of the Hotel Gunter, Kermit “Jake” Failinger, was also present at the Gunter on September 16.

                                            The Doll Room at the Hotel Gunter

 

                                        

                                     Kermit "Jake" Failinger and his wife Thelma "Beanie" Failinger

Stepping inside the Hotel Gunter at the front doors, built in 1896, you may feel as if you have stepped in to the past. The architecture of the lobby is a uniqueness that doesn’t seem to exist anymore. To the right of the front doors stands a large curved wooden reception desk with wood cubby holes for mailboxes behind it. To the left a three piece band consisting of a guitar, a bass, and an accordion plays soft melodies which echo throughout the hotel.  Directly in front of the doors is a grand, red carpeted staircase that narrows to a landing and sprouts off two more staircases in opposite directions to the second floor.

 The Second floor holds the display of Wedding pictures taken on the Hotel Gunter’s majestic staircase. Next to the display is the Doll Room.  The Doll Room holds nearly one hundred dolls and the centerpiece table set up as a tea party.  The basement of the Gunter houses the majority of the historical memorabilia. There is the jail cell which held federal prisoners being transferred from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh, PA, while the guards stayed as guests at the Hotel Gunter. During Prohibition, the basement was used as a speak-easy and sported a cock fighting arena. Displaying the coal mining heritage of Frostburg, there is also a replica mineshaft and original mining tools from the early 1900’s the newest edition to the museum, and one of Kermit Failinger’s favorites, is the Titanic exhibit which has a scale model of the ship.

Participation in the Bicentennial Celebration is just one of the many things that owner Kermit Failinger has done as an act of community service to Frostburg. A member and several times President of The Lions Club since 1963, Kermit has been involved in many events in Frostburg. “I’ve been real active in Frostburg.” Kermit says, “I belong to all the things like the Main Street Program and the Frostburg Business Professionals.”

Currently, the hotel is available for special occasions like weddings, and rents out rooms. The Failinger’s have owned the Hotel Gunter since 1986. “I had eighteen apartments and fourteen hotel rooms,” Mr. Failinger recounts, “then I got to where I needed more apartments and less hotel rooms. Now I’ve got eleven hotel rooms and nineteen apartments.” A night in one of these hotel rooms will run about $86.00 after taxes.  The hotel also has a restaurant in side, and the museum is not just a special occasion for the Bicentennial, those exhibits are setup permanently.

Failinger’s Hotel Gunter is located at 11 West Main Street in Frostburg, Md.