Post by admin on Jan 23, 2010 11:33:31 GMT -5
www.app.com/article/20100121/NEWS/1210320/1004/NEWS01/Firefighter-weds-in-building-he-helped-salvage
FREEHOLD — The first time Jeremy Drewry got a good look inside the American Hotel, it was in flames.
"It was very dark . . . It was pretty scary," Drewry, 23, remembered of that day nearly five years ago when he and more than 100 firefighters battled a blaze that heavily damaged the borough landmark.
Smoke shrouded the interior in darkness. Flames shot toward Drewry and the handful of firefighters sent inside to fight the fire.
"I was just trying to keep myself as calm as I could," said Drewry, then a relative newbie on the Freehold Fire Department.
Flash forward to last month — Dec. 27 to be precise.
Drewry was called to the American Hotel for a very different reason; On Dec. 27, the aspiring police officer wed his girlfriend of three years, 20-year-old Jenna Bellagamba. The wedding and the reception were both held at the hotel.
It was a special day not only for the young couple, but for the hotel itself: The wedding was the first held in the long-shuttered hotel since it reopened Dec. 17.
"I thought it was a wonderful story," said the hotel's principal owner, Steve Goldberg, who first heard about Drewry's previous visit to the hotel after the wedding.
"I felt very proud that the hotel was there to provide that great moment for them," Goldberg said.
Drewry and Bellagamba chose the American Hotel for their big day in part because of his role in the 2005 fire and in part because, said Drewry, the staff was so accommodating.
Walking down the same hallways he trod during the fire, Drewry said his initial response was surprise at how well the renovations had turned out.
Goldberg paid $2.5 million for the property and its liquor license at a bankruptcy auction in 2006. He then sunk another $3.5 million into the renovations, which included demolishing a 6,000-square-foot section that was deemed structurally unsound.
Inside, the former stagecoach stop has been redecorated in muted earth tones. It includes 20 hotel rooms, three banquet halls, two bars, a restaurant and a small spa.
"I think they did a great job," Drewry said.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
FREEHOLD — The first time Jeremy Drewry got a good look inside the American Hotel, it was in flames.
"It was very dark . . . It was pretty scary," Drewry, 23, remembered of that day nearly five years ago when he and more than 100 firefighters battled a blaze that heavily damaged the borough landmark.
Smoke shrouded the interior in darkness. Flames shot toward Drewry and the handful of firefighters sent inside to fight the fire.
"I was just trying to keep myself as calm as I could," said Drewry, then a relative newbie on the Freehold Fire Department.
Flash forward to last month — Dec. 27 to be precise.
Drewry was called to the American Hotel for a very different reason; On Dec. 27, the aspiring police officer wed his girlfriend of three years, 20-year-old Jenna Bellagamba. The wedding and the reception were both held at the hotel.
It was a special day not only for the young couple, but for the hotel itself: The wedding was the first held in the long-shuttered hotel since it reopened Dec. 17.
"I thought it was a wonderful story," said the hotel's principal owner, Steve Goldberg, who first heard about Drewry's previous visit to the hotel after the wedding.
"I felt very proud that the hotel was there to provide that great moment for them," Goldberg said.
Drewry and Bellagamba chose the American Hotel for their big day in part because of his role in the 2005 fire and in part because, said Drewry, the staff was so accommodating.
Walking down the same hallways he trod during the fire, Drewry said his initial response was surprise at how well the renovations had turned out.
Goldberg paid $2.5 million for the property and its liquor license at a bankruptcy auction in 2006. He then sunk another $3.5 million into the renovations, which included demolishing a 6,000-square-foot section that was deemed structurally unsound.
Inside, the former stagecoach stop has been redecorated in muted earth tones. It includes 20 hotel rooms, three banquet halls, two bars, a restaurant and a small spa.
"I think they did a great job," Drewry said.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
