The Lobby

Woah first! Motts as always this is an AMAZING SHOT!

Love the before and after ; great insight

Yes new shots! Look like it's lost it's sense of grander. Those railings sure look nice.

I've been looking at this website for a while now and it is amazing (I am fascinated by abandoned mental hospitals and the history of mental health care). Motts, your photography skills are spectacular! I felt particularly compelled to post a comment here as I live a mere 40 minutes or so from Wilkes-Barre. I've never heard of this hotel until now so it is really neat to see photos of a place nearby! Keep up the awesome work, Motts. I will surely comment on other galleries :)

Wowwwwwwwww the railings and the pillars are the same amazing!! Too bad it doesn't look so spacious anymore compared to the old pic. Shame, but wow that's beautiful.

Love the before and after shots!

Holy Christmas, Motts!

*yeah, awesome stuff!*

Anytime there are before and after shots it just adds to the shot, thank you Motts! And by the way this is a terrific shot, love those banisters, columns and the ceiling.

My goodness, I think I spotted myself in the old 1908 photo. Just scared the crap out of this old dude, are we all doomed to repeat ourselves in the dust bin of history, or is it just me indulging myself in fantasy and bizarre bit of creating something that never existed and never will. Me, Jack, the hotel, what is this thing we call life?

if anyone played resident evil 1 on playstation this looks just like the video game great shot motts......

I'm gonna LOVE this set.....

Same here, I can tell this is going to be favorite already. The lobby actually looks in very good shape.

Wow... I can only imagine what it looked like back in the day...

The before & after shots are great! Always glad to be viewing your photos!

i miss this place so much..my first UE expeditions happened here..thanks for doing it justice,this place means alot to me

The columns are to die for. . . Are the building you visit ever salvaged? Or just torn down?

Amazing!

Wonderful !

Signed an American Soldier stationed in Mannheim, Germany.

Wednesday, 30 / April / 2008
German time; 10:47 P.M.

New pics!! Happy dance!!!

great photo! love the arcitecture in this one

Good ole Pensylvania !!! :)

Motts, are you ever working twosome, or sometimes alone?

Mr. Motts, I agree with laura; i stumbled upon this website after i saw a ghost show about one of the mental hospitals. i love those hospitals, they are beautiful. i old hotels too. i've been sending everyone i know this website. what i am surprised about is that you have never caught any spirits in your shots, any that i could spot that is. i'm sort of a ghost hunter and live vicariously through others' pictures and i've never seen anything that jumped out at me (haha). even when you did the angel photos with your friend dressed up in wings and a halo, i would have thought doing that would have brought them out. i bet you hear strange noises in these old buildings at times though don't you? you should bring an EVP thing with you.

LOVE THIS WEBSITE!

To bad this place couldn't have been made into a private residence like a home, or cleaned up to be a working hotel once again, or even a Bed and Breakfast complete with antiques. Could you imagine how much space you would have to get lost in this beautiful place? Amazing! Too bad most of these places are being re-desinged and made into condos, while other old structures like this one are simply being demolished only to then make way for a parking lot, or a shopping center, or more condos. I love old buildings, especially reading up on the history of them too. I love the lobby picture most of all, very beautiful designs on the large collumns and on the railings of the second floor. Reminds me of lost elegence of a forgotten time in history that is often overlooked nowadays. Nice pictures and wonderful website by the way, keep up the good work.

@motts, i wonder who the person is in the blue shirt and black pants, standing behind the glass door at the left side of the corner pillar, just ahead, even the left hand is visible as he stands sidewise and looking half left half to the camera, but the face is somehow blurry so i cant say if its really a person standing over there or something else or just my eyes playing a trick.

Wonderful pillars! What a neat room, must've been something back in the day!

The Sterling has always been a mystery for those not brave enough to venture in. There used to be a club in the rear, side, of the Hotel were local punk and hardcore bands played. The entrance to "Metro" used to be through the Sterling. For as long as I can remember Wilkes-Barre has been talking about turning it in to "higher class" apartments or dorms for the universities, none of those venturs have ever fell through.

Cheers to Motts for documenting the past and the inside ....out

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod. I live in PA. I need to go here. And the York County Prison too!!

Wow It's looks so diffrent from when it first opened.Your photographs are so awsome nad sometimes give me shivers down my spine.Your work is amazing!

damn. it looks amazing even when its not new.

The sun light coming from above the ceiling is wonderful.

HEYYY! i love in wilkes-barre, P.A.
a few blocks down from hotel sterling, in fact.
it doesn't look as creepy outside, as it does in. hm.

oops live*

This lobby looks the same as the ship lobby on a video game called Ghost Hunter.. how wierd.

wow .
this must have looked amazing when it was still up and running .
Great shot Motts .
(:

Awsome what a shame to see it in such a ruin.

Nice one motts, the pillars are awesome!

It's a shame it had to be demolished.
I mean, imagine the people that stayed there, probably on vacation, or a buiseness trip.
I wish I could have been there when it was still operational.

Wow. Did anybody else get the Shining reference? Would have loved to film in here.

I worked in the Hotel Sterling for approximately two years before joining the Air Force in 1970. Awesome place! Love your pictures and appreciate you bringing back fond memories. I always enjoyed working there and all the excitement that come with grand Hotel. Thanks again and keep up the great work!!!

What a shame the building couldn't be saved. This lobby photo (esp the before & after shots) are incredible. It really must have been beautiful in its hey day. Thanks again for your wonderful photos , Motts. I look forward to this gallery as well as many many more from you....for I still have much to look through as well as the 'new' ones you will be posting esp from your trip. Can't wait. Well on to this one. It really must have been a beautiful place in its day.

It's really amazing you managed to ever get in this place. I walk by it seemingly everyday and I was never able to pick out any viable entrance. It's good that I can look through this gallery to finally pique my childhood curiosity as to what's actually inside Hotel Sterling.

hi motts. i live like a 5 min drive away from the sterling hotel. and in the article you said that it was demolished in february 2007. and thats not true they only took down a little bit of it. the rest is still all there. .....it truly is a wonderful thought to think how beautiful it was back in the day, my mom was there a long time ago and said it really was a gorgeous hotel.

it had a chance to still be running today but people just didnt take care of it. after the flood of 1972 and the fire (which you mentioned in the article.....and i heard my mom tell me like a million times) ....the people who owned the hotel just werent taking care of it the way that they should of been. and now it sits there and people vandalize it and set fires in it all the time.
and motts dont think i'm acting rude cuz thats not my goal i'm just stating the facts

just so you know, not all of the Sterling Hotel was demolished in 2006 like the other page says. I like about 3 minutes away, and it's still there. These pictures are amazing! I've always wanted to go in there!

I am a former resident with family in the area, but yes this part of Hotel Sterling is still up and is supposed to be renovated into condos. Another building which was part of the complex was torn down as it was deemed not worthy of renovation.

Looks like they just threw the stuff there from the balconies.

I stand in the presence of lost grandeur and old world magnificence only to realize that this is to be nevermore. Tears stream down.

do you know any othr sites like this

I live in Wilkes Barre and never got the opportunity to go inside the Sterling. Though I've always wanted to see it. Thanks Motts for traveling and taking this photos!

i always wondered what this place looked like. its a shame they let it go to waste. it looks really nice, if u look past all the garbage and mold and stuff.

Does anyone know anyone who collects items from the Sterling Hotel? I have a long console table that was in the suite of A.J. Sordoni himself. The table is stamped property of A.J. Sordoni. Please contact me at cjohns1313@yahoo.com if anyone is interested.

This place was amazing... I have fond memories of dinners there in the late 70's. Awesome pics!

*DINGG* "Somebody's checking in?!"
"If this is the Happiness Hotel, I'd hate to see what the sad one looks like!"

This is how it would have looked like in this glory days.
http://www.northeast.r...tclint/sterling3.jpg

If anyone is interested I just listed this evening (11/27/09) on ebay an original c1905 Hotel Sterling Lobby photograph on ebay. Click on or follow the link below:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws...mp;item=360212393143

WOW ! I In the fall of 1983 through much of 1984, a friend & i LIVED at the Sterling. one bed w/ a "taco effect" mattress......WHEEEEE! Got a new double mattress. Still have pictures of the room, view out the window. Knew some nice folks there.Aad often wonder where they are. !n the early *80s the feel was one of low rent housing . The was a small club downstairs near the lobby & a cafe where I often had WONDERFUL breakfasts.I have had dreams I was back there. I can tell a lot of people hold great affection for the Sterling & yes ,we all loved that lobby. It was a'draw' then ..People came in just to show it to visitors from out of area..Must check the forum out . Just might find some references to that period. SO GLAD YOU FOUND AN ENTRY WAY!!!!!!!!i i CAN ENJOY THE Sterling here in Portland, OR