Milton Hershey participated in a number of crowning achievements during his life, one of which was the construction the Hotel Hershey.

Hershey had identified the spot for the hotel, a hilltop park that was known by several names including "Pat's Hill," as early as 1909. Inspired by his lifetime of travel across North America and Europe, Hershey envisioned building a grand summer resort. It would be several years before Hershey settled on a design, with help from his architect, D. Paul Witmer, for what would eventually become a 170-room hotel that took old world architectural cues from Mediterranean, Cuban, and Spanish designs.

Construction on the hotel began in 1931 and Hershey remained on the sidelines, having already made the major designs decisions and preferring to leave the details to others. It was completed in the late spring 1933.

A few years later, Hershey added, as a gift to his wife Catherine, a 3 ½ acre rose garden. Now known as the Hershey Garden, the space has expanded to over 20 acres, and it still hosts the Hersheys' world-class rose garden.

HSP's library contains a number of published works on Milton Hershey, his work and his family, such as Milton Hershey: Chocolate King with Heart (call number UPA/Da LD 7501.H47 G47 1990) and Chocolate King: The Story of Milton Hershey (call number PAM CT 275 .H5863 M33 1971). Additional images of image of Hershey, the man and the town, can be found in the Philadelphia Record photograph collection (#V07).