A former stagecoach stop almost lost to neglect and fire has been transformed into one of New Jersey’s most popular boutique hotels

By Laura D.C. Kolnoski • Photos By Amessé Photography

Steven Goldberg fondly recalls the March day in 2006 when his career changed from architect to hotelier. Successful in building and running healthcare facilities, he was on the verge of retirement.

“That morning, I called a friend to play golf; it was the first nice day of spring and I was itching to play,” he related. “He said he couldn’t show up because he was meeting clients at an e vent in Freehold…the old American Hotel was being auctioned off at a bankruptcy sale. He suggested I meet him there so we could play golf afterward.” Having just moved to adjacent Manalapan, Goldberg had no knowledge of the hotel, but dearly wanted to hit the links, so he met his friend at the downtown landmark.

“The building was old, moldy, scary, and falling apart—just up my alley,” Goldberg grinned. “Three hours later, I had purchased it and realized my early retirement was over. My passion for old buildings and entrepreneurship had put me in the hospitality business.”

Originally built circa 1824 as a stagecoach stop, the hotel expanded and endured over 180 years. Its most famous visitor was Abraham Lincoln, who stopped there on his way to the White House in 1861. A critical stopover between New York, Trenton, and Philadelphia, the American Hotel was widely known as a popular gathering place for horsemen during track season. Freehold Raceway is just one mile away on the same road (Route 537, aka Main Street), as is Freehold Mall. Beaches are 15 miles away, Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park, 12.

A series of owners changed things over time until the hotel was closed for fire code violations in 2004. A fire in the vacant building in 2005 caused significant damage, leading to the auction two years later.

Goldberg quickly began the considerable task of restoring the structure to its former glory, staying true to its old world charm while enhancing attributes and adding the modern amenities of a boutique establishment. He sought to recreate the iconic building as a hotel, restaurant, bar, and community gathering place.

“I realized I had a lot to learn and do if this project was to be successful,” he said.

For the project, Goldberg enlisted Manalapan architect Michael V. Testa, who designed Bear Tavern Green in Ewing Township and the mixed-use Firpo building in Old Bridge.

“From the start, Steven envisioned a New Orleans-style rebirth of the building, with outdoor seating and balconies overlooking the downtown so guests could enjoy the nightlife from their rooms,” said Testa. The renovation necessitated demolition of one portion and a re-build to former specifications. Local historic preservationists were consulted to ensure accuracy of the details.

“A building with this much character did not need to be reinvented, it just needed to be brought back to life and infused with the passion the owner provided,” Testa explained. “While walking on the roof we noticed that the flagpole was made of wood [actually a tree with sawed-off branches, Goldberg revealed]. Steven fell in love with it and we restored the supports so it could stand tall at the front of the building.”

An ornamental lobby staircase was missing its lower half, Testa added. Goldberg stared at it for hours, “dreaming of and discussing the grandeur it could bring to the main lobby.” With help from T&K Contractors’ Anthony Cammallere, the staircase was restored and is now the focal point of many bridal photographs.

A graduate of Pratt University, Goldberg took an enthusiastic interest in the proceedings, Testa said, including selecting the color scheme of yellow, cream, and gold tones throughout, another nod to New Orleans style. While many original details and artifacts were lost over time, Goldberg did manage to uncover some hidden treasures, including black wrought-iron paned windows unearthed behind a wall…and now once again part of the décor.

The finished product features two floors of 20 boutique-style guest rooms. The second and third floors encompass 2,195 square feet, while the banquet facility is 7,051 square feet. The Market Yard Grille bistro and bar, its name harkening back to central Freehold’s past, occupies an additional 2,653 square feet. The facilities were further modified to be handicapped-accessible.

The American Hotel reopened in December 2009 after $3.5 million in renovations, and the first wedding held there was that of a Freehold firefighter who fought the 2005 blaze that almost destroyed it.

Called a “masterpiece” by the Asbury Park Press, the hotel includes deluxe and business suites, three elegant banquet rooms accommodating up to 200, and a lobby bar connected to the bistro with windows fronting the street. Room amenities include free wireless Internet service, flat-screen televisions, refrigerators, lush bathrobes, in-room safes, pillow-top beds, and continental breakfasts.

Now a popular venue for meetings, weddings, and special occasions of all types, the hotel employs about 90 staff members. In 2010, it received a Monmouth County Planning Merit Award, presented by noted historic and open space preservation advocate Freeholder Lillian G. Burry. Particular mention was made of the business’s job creation and attracting new visitors to the area while remaining compatible with the historic character of the area. That same year, the restaurant’s Crab Cake (still on the menu) won the People’s Choice Award at a Monmouth Racetrack food event, while it’s pirate-themed booth took Best Presentation. Goldberg and his hotel also garnered a New Good Neighbor Award from the New Jersey Business Industry Association.

“This marvelous renovation has returned a needed asset to a busy downtown commercial center,” Burry said. “It continues to anchor western Monmouth County as a tourism destination in the heart of New Jersey’s Revolutionary War history.”

A spirit of fun prevails at the hotel and restaurant, where promotions and special events enliven most days of the week with live entertainment (including comedy shows), a Sunday brunch buffet, a Masquerade Ball at Halloween, and many more events.

“People share their memories of the place with me, too,” Goldberg said. “It’s neat when a future bride comes in and tells us this is where her parents got married.” Goldberg had even more fun when the hotel hosted a group of “high-ranking Russian diplomats” at the request of former New Jersey Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande.

“We prepared a grand Russian meal with expensive vodkas,” Goldberg related. “We even found Russian-speaking locals to help us communicate. As it turned out, they were very lovely, but hardly high ranking. The men were working in the building trades and were not even sure why we were making this huge fuss over them. In the end, we all enjoyed the vodka [laughs]. I have an ashtray and a lighter they left me as a gift.”

The affable owner was born in Manhattan, moved to New London, Connecticut in 1965, and graduated from New London High School. After receiving his architecture degree from Pratt in 1980, he lived and worked in Brooklyn until moving to Ocean County in 1982. While designing a nursing home there with his father, he decided to go into healthcare services. After his dad retired, Goldberg continued building his business in Monmouth and Ocean counties, eventually owning three nursing homes, a healthcare staffing agency, and seven Young at Heart adult daycare centers. He also founded a school for training healthcare workers, LTC Career Training. Along the way, he sought distressed or abandoned properties to renovate and put to use for his healthcare ventures.

“I just love buildings with history, and try to imagine a new use and life for them,” he said, adding, “I always wanted to be an architect and builder.”

Goldberg recalled, however, being disappointed that his pre-reconstruction foraging at the American Hotel produced few treasures.

“I remember finding loads of old things and thinking how to reuse them only to learn that trying to save them was too expensive and would not work right anyway,” he said, but added that there are historic photos and postcards of the hotel in its early days, including an old lithograph found in the basement called “Mexican News,” depicting a man reading the newspaper on the hotel steps bearing news of the Mexican War. More can be found in the “Days Gone By” section of the hotel website. “We also found a beautiful oil on canvas by Winnie Smart depicting an old horse-drawn carriage and passengers in front of the hotel, which now hangs in the lobby.”

A board member and sponsor of the Downtown Freehold Association, Goldberg is also a contributing sponsor for various charities, including the American Cancer Society and the National MS Society. He is understandably proud of the now-bustling destination he saved, popular for public and private events as well as for quiet dinners and festive restaurant celebrations.

“There are not many places in the area where you can have a romantic fireside Valentine dinner and then stay overnight in a gorgeous boutique hotel,” he said.

American Hotel
18 East Main Street, Freehold
732.431.3220
americanhotelnj.com