Crown American is a privately held American company that manages and develops commercial real estate. The corporate headquarters is in downtown Johnstown, Pennsylvania, in a building designed by architect Michael Graves.[1]
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. In 1993, the company split into two entities. The shopping mall portion of the company became a publicly held real estate investment trust, Crown American Realty Trust, and Crown American Hotels controlled the company's hospitality businesses. At its peak, Crown American operated 28 shopping malls, the Hess's department store chain (with 73 locations), and 20 hotels and motels.
In 2003 the shopping mall development and management unit, Crown American Realty Trust, was sold to Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust. 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, completed a master of science degree in international relations at the London School of Economics, and studied international affairs at the University of Cologne. Michael Barletta is president and chief executive officer.