The Guard House Inn Has Been There Since the 18th Century. Here's What That Kind of Longevity Actually Takes.

The building at 953 Youngsford Road in Gladwyne has been serving people since approximately 1790. Colonial troops allegedly marched through for refreshments. It survived the Civil War, the arrival of the Pennsylvania Railroad, two World Wars, and the suburbanization that turned the farmland around it into one of the wealthiest communities in the country. Albert Breuers bought it on a handshake in 1979, ran it for 38 years, and left with a reservation book full through his last night of service. That is not a marketing story. That is what two centuries of showing up the same way looks like from the outside.