Petri Relocates Office to Historical Inn

The three-story building at the corner of Second Street Pike and Almshouse Road that once was the Spread Eagle Inn is serving the community again – this time as the office of State Representative Scott Petri .

“The fact the building is so visible and so historically significant to Richboro is great,” Petri (R-Bucks) said of his new first floor office in the former Inn that at one point was facing demolition.

Petri also pointed out the move to the new office saves taxpayers money because the rent is several hundred dollars less than the rent for his old Richboro office.

“In this day and age every little penny helps,” Petri said.

The first time Petri thought of the former Spread Eagle Inn as an office was in 2002 after he was elected to his seat in the 178th District, which serves Northampton, Ivyland, Wrightstown, and parts of Upper Makefield, Upper Southampton, and Warwick.

At the time Petri was thinking of sharing the building with State Senator Tommy Tomlinson, but the Spread Eagle building was not in good condition and did not meet the handicap accessible standards that are required for the offices of elected state officials, Petri said.

Petri now says his new office, in the renovated Spread Eagle building, is accessible to all those he serves. Rep. Petri and his staff moved into their offices in late summer and are happy with the their new space calling it, “very efficient.”

On a bookshelf in the 1055-square-foot office, a binder contains several pages that detail the history of the building, which at one time was called the White Bear Tavern. The Inn was built in the late 1700s by Enoch Addis, the namesake of Addisville.

The Inn was one of two in early 1800’s Northampton Township, a popular stop for travelers leaving Philadelphia. The township was referred to as “Beartown,” in reference to the two inns, one named the Black Bear, and Petri’s current office which was the White Bear.

The Inn served as an important meeting place for local volunteer militias and also was known to have held meetings to discuss “Negro Suffrage,” according to historical documents.

Great changes hit the White Bear Inn in 1907 when it was bought by Hiram S. McCool, who changed the name of the inn to McCool’s Tavern. McCool also modernized the building by adding a heating system and bathrooms. Also, in the early part of the century the competing Black Bear was converted into a private residence.

In 1937, McCool’s became the Spread Eagle Inn. Petri said when he was a young attorney in the 1980s he remembers the Spread Eagle Inn as being a popular tavern in the Northampton community. In 1989, the Spread Eagle was converted into an upscale eatery and was closed by 1994.

The building sat empty for several years and became known around town as an “eyesore,” according to historical information provided by Petri’s office.

In 2001, the empty historical Inn was standing in the way of progress and was lifted and moved back several hundred feet to accommodate the expansion of the Second Street Pike and Almshouse Road intersection. The building was bought shortly after being moved by the Giaimos family, who operates , which lies behind the Spread Eagle Inn building.

Petri said, “when you walk in, you sigh, and you get a sense of what Richboro used to be like.”According to his website, Petri plans to hold an open house in his new office soon.