MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — It's a day people here in Monroe County won't forget.
The morning the iconic Pocono Manor near Mount Pocono caught fire.
Everything was destroyed and Sunday marks one year since it happened.
"I remember it burning down. It happened slowly and it was very strange and all of the neighbors. I mean our neighborhood is built around the hotel," said a nearby resident.
"It's the heart of our neighborhood. Everyone, we all just stood and watched it slowly burn. It was really heartbreaking."
What is left of the Manor is blocked by gates, tons of rubble and other debris still litter the ground.
People who live in this part of Pocono Township wonder why it's being left like this.
According to the general manager, the owners of the building are still waiting for insurance settlements.
He says renovation plans for the place, that were revealed last October, will still move forward once everything is said and done.
People who live in this area understand it's going to take time to clean up what happened here. They would also really like to see something built back into this popular area.
"Every time you go by and you see the rubble and you knew what the building was and what it is now, it's sad," remembered Nancy Hopping of Greentown.
She's staying positive that the area will get cleaned up and the renovation plans will fall into place.
"People who live here are excited. If COVID-19 wasn't such a backlog and the insurance company didn't drag their feet, but you know everything happens for a reason. You don't understand why," said Hopping. "Or for whatever reason, it does what it does but everything will come together when it's supposed to come together and if it came together any earlier would it be as successful? Who knows?"
The general manager tells Newswatch 16, there's no timetable on when an insurance settlement might be reached.
Until then, the owners continue to ask people to stay away from this part of the property.
