It’s Johnstown!

Visit Johnstown Pa | B & L Wine Cellars
B & L Wine Cellars

B&L started as a dream of two different home wine makers. The dream became a reality when Chip and Susan Brill met Rich and Toni Lamm at a wine tasting at the Holiday Inn. The two couples learned that they had a lot in common and they set out on a journey. This journey lead to the creation of B & L Wine Cellars. The winery keeps its local heritage in tact. This is shown by the affiation of Cambria City, featured on two of their wines, "Cambria City Red" and "Stone Bridge Red." The winery often partners with local businesses to bring our wines to different parts of Johnstown.

Visit Johnstown Pa | The Grand Halle on Broad Street
The Grand Halle On Broad Street

Johnstown’s newest – and oldest – music hall. Formerly the Immaculate Conception church, the Grand Halle’s soaring Gothic architecture creates a lively acoustical setting for choral, a capella, and acoustic performances; and is perfectly matched to its Adam Stein pipe organ.

Visit Johnstown Pa | Morley’s Dog
Morley’s Dog

Located at the corner of Market and Main Streets in downtown Johnstown, this French bloodhound statue was owned by James Morley, who was the head of transportation for the Cambria Iron Company in the late 1800s.

Legend describes how the dog came to life during the Great Flood of 1889 and rescued victims swept away by the flood waters! In reality, Morley’s Dog simply served as a lawn ornament at the Morley home at the corner of Main and Walnut Streets in downtown Johnstown.

Today, the beloved canine is part of a fund-raising campaign for Cambria County Crime Stoppers and the Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center. Fiberglass reproductions are purchased by area businesses and organizations, artistically rendered, and placed on display.

Two Morley’s Dogs are located at the Visit Johnstown headquarters at 416 Main St., downtown Johnstown; one represents the area’s tourism attractions, and the other, is the “Thunder Dog” representing Johnstown’s annual motorcycle rally, Thunder in the Valley®.

An exact replica of the original Morley’s Dog is located in a City of Johnstown’s park, across from City Hall. Other dogs have been completed and future plans call for a map to show their locations.

Visit Johnstown Pa | Twin Towers Structural Beam
Twin Towers Structural Beam

Structural beam from one of New York’s Twin Towers from the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Johnstown is one of only five cities in the U.S. that has an actual part of the Towers. Located beside St. Mary’s Byzantine Catholic Church pavilion, the structure serves as a permanent memorial for the victims and heroes of 9/11.

Visit Johnstown PA Venue Of Merging Arts
Venue Of Merging Arts (V.O.M.A.)

A non-profit arts organization whose mission is to “preserve a historically significant former church building by transforming it into a unique venue in which various forms of artistic expression can merge together to promote, educate, entertain, and involve the community in the arts.”

Visit Johnstown Pa | Coney Island
Coney Island

Whether you go for the food or the experience, a trip to Johnstown is not complete until you have visited Coney Island! Operated by four generations of the Contacos family since 1916, Coney Island prepares their famous hot dogs topped with their secret chili recipe, hamburgers, and the popular sundowner sandwich — a hamburger topped with a fried egg, mustard, secret chili sauce, and onions. Order your hot dogs and watch apron-clad servers line up the hot dogs along their arm from wrist to bicep, quickly smearing on the works, and serving them up in record time! Whether you grab lunch or dinner, or visit Coney Island after the Tomahawks hockey game, the food and  fun promises to be an  experience you won’t soon forget!

Visit Johnstown Pa | Gobs
Gob

According to the Tribune-Democrat, folklorist and archivist Susan Kalcik believes that Johnstown’s Gob, the popular cake-like pastry, became a favorite dessert because of local coal miners and steel workers. Men carried them in their lunches and “the little cake with the icing on the inside instead of the outside served its purpose,” explained Kalcik. She is convinced that the name “gob,” often known as Whoopie Pies in other parts of the state, was derived from the miners. “Lumps of coal refuse were called gob piles. These working people adapted the name to the dessert,” said Kalcik.

Technically, the name “gob” belongs to Tim Yost, owner of Johnstown-based Dutch Maid Bakery, who ships cases of the treats across the country.

Although the most popular flavor is chocolate, gobs can be found in pumpkin, banana, peanut butter, and many other concoctions.

Visit Johnstown Pa | Subs
Subs

You may know them as hoagies, torpedoes, grinders, heroes, or any other name, but in Johnstown these delicious Italian sandwiches are known as subs, short for submarine sandwiches. Sub shops are available in just about any Johnstown suburb; popular chain shops and Mom & Pop locations. The sandwiches vary in size, but are most commonly served in a 12” version served on crunchy Italian bread and stuffed with salami, Italian meats and cheeses, veggies, and sprinkled with Italian dressing and spices. Eaten for lunch, dinner, snacks or during the big game, subs are often sold by local groups (i.e. Boy Scouts and church groups) as fund raisers. These delicious sandwiches can be found at several locations around Johnstown including Em's Original Sub Shop.

Visit Johnstown PA Sgt. Michael Strank, Iwo Jima Flag Raiser
Sgt. Michael Strank, Iwo Jima Flag Raiser

Sergeant Michael Strank was born in present day Slovakia on November 10, 1919. His family moved to Franklin, PA when he was 2 years old. He attended schools here and graduated in 1937. After time in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), he enlisted into the US Marine Corps on October 6, 1939. Promoted to Sergeant on January 26, 1942, he participated in the Northern Solomons Campaign in 1943-1944. After a short leave, he trained and participated in the Battle of Iwo Jima. Here, he and 5 other Marines raised the flag on Mount Suribachi. He was the Sergeant in charge. The flagraising was photographed by Associated Press photographer, Joe Rosenthal. It has been recognized as being the most reproduced photograph and the most recognized image in the history of the world. After the flagraising, Sgt. Strank returned to combat and was killed on March 1, 1945 as he was planning an attack. He has been immortalized in movies, books and documentaries; and he is buried in Arlington National Cemetary in Washington, DC where the flag raising statue greets all at its entrance. Those who served with him have always referred to him as the Marine's Marine.