UPDATE: Manresa Castle was listed for sale for $3.4 million but did not sell for that price as was reported in an earlier version of this story. Jefferson County Assessor Jeff Chapman said in an email that Jefferson County's information on the sale shows the property was sold for $1.9 million and that it does not include personal property.

Manresa Castle, one of Port Townsend's most iconic buildings, has been sold for  to H&R Hospitality Inc.

Ravin Patel, the new manager of the 41-room Manresa Castle, since May 2015, has also managed the Aladdin Inn, at 2333 Washington St. on Port Townsend Bay. Both accommodation properties are now owned by the same company. Patel said the investors are local and members of his family.

Manresa's restaurant and lounge is not open for Thanksgiving this year, and the new owners are looking for someone to operate the dining room, Patel said. Apparently, three people who worked in the restaurant and lounge have lost their jobs.

Patel did not want to elaborate on the future; he indicated that the intention is to continue to operate Manresa as an accommodation, and to make improvements.

According to the Jefferson County Assessor's Office, Manresa was last sold in 2004 to Freeland Investments Inc. of Oak Harbor, Washington, for $2.25 million.

Preston Massey, the previous owner, said last week that he could not comment on the sale until the deal was finalized on Nov. 1. Early this week, Massey could not be reached for comment.

BUILDING'S HISTORY

Charlies Eisenbeis, an emigrant from Prussia, arrived in Port Townsend in 1858. He established and operated a cracker factory, a brickyard and the first brewery in Washington territory. He had a hand in real estate, banking, a lumber mill and railroad development, and served as Port Townsend's first mayor in 1878.

With materials from his brickyard, Eisenbeis erected many of downtown Port Townsend's wharfs and buildings during the late 1880s and early 1890s, including the Mount Baker Block Building.

In 1892, he built his family residence to resemble castles in his native Prussia. The original home had three stories, an attic and a basement, and 30 rooms; it was the largest private residence built in Port Townsend. Locals referred to the building as the "Eisenbeis Castle."

Eisenbeis died in 1902 and the castle was left empty for almost 20 years.

JESUIT ORDER

In 1925, a Seattle attorney bought the building as a vacation place for nuns teaching in Seattle schools. This plan did not work out.

In 1927, Jesuit priests purchased the building for use as a training college. In 1928, the Jesuits added a large wing housing a chapel and sleeping rooms. When their addition was complete, the Jesuits covered the bricks with stucco to give the building a more uniform look. They named the complex "Manresa Hall," after the town in Spain where Ignatius Loyola founded the order.

Students typically did 10-month stints at the school in relative seclusion.

In June 1968, the Jesuit School at Manresa Hall closed its doors. The church decided to relocate the hall's staff and students to Seattle, where they could have more contact with other people. In August, 10,000 volumes were transferred from Manresa Hall to the new library at Seattle University.

HOTEL/RESTAURANT

In December 1968, Josh and Dolly Norris purchased the Eisenbeis estate, envisioning it as a 37-room hotel with dining and dancing.

Eventually, the elements "Manresa" and "Castle" were taken from the two previous owners to create the current name. The business enterprise changed hands again before May 1989, when Vernon and Lena Humber, with partner Jeff Wetmore, purchased the property for a gross sale price of $1.63 million from Ross and Carol Smith.

In 2004, the property was sold to the Massey family (Island Construction, Island Property Management). The family owns other commercial properties in Port Townsend, including the Flagship Landing building and Port Townsend Plaza.

The property has been on and off the real estate market for years.

Various subcontractors have attempted to run the restaurant and lounge separately from the hotel.

In November 2016, the property was sold to H&R Hospitality for a reported $3.4 million, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service.

PROPERTY VENUE

As a guest accommodation, Manresa Castle has been a known commodity, with Victorian charm, woodwork and a mixture of antiques.

The 41-room, three-story hotel is the only hotel in Port Townsend with an elevator, according to the Manresa website. As a wedding or special-event venue (indoors and outdoors), it has banquet facilities to accommodate 120 guests; and as many as 200 with all available ground-floor space. The private parking lot has proven popular with car clubs looking for a rally destination.

The building has a long history of drawing ghost hunters and television programs filming ghost stories, and has accommodated special events that book the entire hotel.

The property's primary drawback has been its location. Although only a few blocks off the main highway going in and out of town, tourists tend to go first to the accommodations in or near downtown.

The restaurant and lounge operation has evolved over the years, sometimes being operated by the building owner, and at other times, leased to a separate business. For about the past two years, the restaurant has been operated by the building owners.

(Leader staff writers Patrick J. Sullivan and Allison Arthur contributed to this report.)