Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

. The corporate headquarters is in downtown

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

, in a building designed by architect

Michael Graves Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Gr ...

History

The company was founded in 1950 as Crown Construction. Frank J. Pasquerilla, who joined less than a year later, became president in 1956 and sole owner in 1961. The company's name was changed to Crown American in 1972 and in 1979 it acquired the

Hess's Hess's was a department store chain based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. The company started in 1897 with one store, originally known as Hess Brothers, and grew to nearly 80 stores by its peak in the late 1980s. The chain's stores were closed or sol ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

chain. In 1993, the company split into two entities. The

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

portion of the company became a publicly held

real estate investment trust A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, and in most cases operates, income-producing real estate. REITs own many types of commercial real estate, including office and apartment buildings, warehouses, hospitals, shopping ce ...

, Crown American Realty Trust, and Crown American Hotels controlled the company's hospitality businesses. At its peak, Crown American operated 30 shopping malls, the Hess's department store chain (with 73 locations), and 20

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

and motels. In 2003 the shopping mall development and management unit, Crown American Realty Trust, was sold to

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that invests in shopping centers mostly in the Mid-Atlantic states. History The company was founded by Sylvan M. Cohen in 1960 as one of the first equi ...

. The hospitality unit, Crown American Hotels, was retained. In 2005, 22 of the company's 26 hotels were acquired by W2001 Eastern Hotel Realty, an affiliate of the Archon Group, which assumed responsibility for their management. Frank Pasquerilla died from a stroke in 1999. His son, Mark E. Pasquerilla, serves as chairman of Crown American Hotels. Mark Pasquerilla joined the company in 1981 and was named president in 1990. He is a graduate of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, completed a

master of science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast ...

degree in international relations at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

, and studied international affairs at the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

. Michael Barletta is president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

List of former malls

Crown American has owned a total of 30 shopping malls during its history. When they merged with PREIT in 2003, they owned 26 malls, and were partners in one other. Crown American also owned a ground lease for an anchor pad at the Westgate Mall in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, though they did not own the mall itself.

Notes

References

{{Reflist * ''New York Times'', "Pennsylvania REIT to Buy Crown American Realty Trust," May 15, 2003.
Press Release - 14 May 2003
of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Crown American Realty Trust Announce Merger Agreement; Combined Company to Become a Leading Mid-Atlantic Shopping Mall REIT *

" ''Intercom Online'', Volume 27, Issue 26,

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

, April 2, 1998. * Tomas Kellner,
Open for Business
" ''Forbes Magazine'', September 6, 2004. * "IRWeblink." IRWeblink. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013

External links

Crown American Hotels website

Archon Hospitality

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust
Privately held companies based in Pennsylvania Johnstown, Pennsylvania Hospitality companies of the United States Shopping center management firms Real estate companies established in 1950 Michael Graves buildings 1950 establishments in Pennsylvania