20th century The company was founded in 1950 as
Crown Construction. Frank J. Pasquerilla, who joined less than a year later, became president in 1956 and sole owner in 1961. The company's name was changed to Crown American in 1972 and in 1979, it acquired the
Hess's department store chain. In 1993, the company split into two entities. The
shopping mall portion of the company became a publicly held
real estate investment trust, Crown American Realty Trust, and Crown American Hotels controlled the company's hospitality businesses. At its peak, Crown American operated 30 shopping malls, the Hess's department store chain (with 73 locations), and 20
hotels and motels. In 1999 Frank Pasquerilla had a stroke and died.
21st century In 2003, the shopping mall development and management unit, Crown American Realty Trust, was sold to *
PREIT. The Crown American Associates building was sold in December 2025 to 1st Summit Bank, and was the last Pasquerilla Enterprises LP property. == List of former malls ==