Cork products were once made in the hotel you face. The hotel opened in 2009 in a redeveloped cork factory dating to 1865. This plant was variously known as the Lancaster Cork Works and the Lancaster Closure Plant.
In the late 19th century the property was acquired by Armstrong Cork Co., later renamed Armstrong World Industries. In 1929 Armstrong consolidated its cork operations here, making Lancaster the "cork capital" of the world. At that time the "Cork Works" on New Holland Avenue manufactured a wide array of cork products, including soles and heels for shoes and cork-lined metal tops for soft drink bottles.
The company's linoleum manufacturing business developed using by-products from cork manufacturing. The plant was later used for closure and plastic container manufacturing and became known as the Lancaster Closure Plant. In 1969 Armstrong sold its packaging business, including the Lancaster Closure Plant, to Kerr Glass Manufacturing Corp.
Kerr manufactured plastic bottles at the plant but ceased operations there in 2000. In 2004 Barry Baldwin acquired the property, and in 2009 the site reopened as the Cork Factory Hotel. Notice the long façades stretching along New Holland Avenue, echoes of the old Cork Works.