PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- The historic Blennerhassett Hotel in Parkersburg is getting a makeover.

Crews are replacing the awning over the hotel's entrance with a two-ton carriage porch.

Other exterior improvements will include lights, infrared heat and signs.

General manager Cecil Childress tells the Parkersburg News and Sentinel that the improvements are designed to the hotel's period. The total cost will be about $160,000.

The hotel opened in 1889. It's on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's list of historic hotels of America.