My family did the Catskills well into the 80′s. During the 70′s, they left me at a bungalow colony with my grandmother summer weekdays while all my Goyishe friends were at camp. We had family reunions at the big hotels until that whole generation moved down to Florida.The first year of my marriage (1988), the in-laws were invited to one of these reunions. They’re probably still haunted by the memory of it. Proper Dubliners integrating with a bunch of loud mouth New York Jews for the entire weekend. It wasn’t pretty. My immediate family alone is enough to scare anyone off, but the cousins make us look GOOD!
20 years later, we’re still married and you know what? At least my family realizes they’re nuts. I’d rather wear it on my sleeve than sweep it under a rug.
Anyway, The Borscht Belt….yeah, I’m getting to that! I was all set to do a post on the abandoned hotels, but now it looks as if some of them are reopening.
The Nevele is still around. Kutchers has been reincarnated as a Hasidic joint, as is the Raleigh and the Homowack, now called Spring Mountain Resort.
The Concord will be demolished and renewed. The hotel formerly known as Browns, of “Dirty Dancing” fame is now Grandview Palace Condos.
Ah, but Grossingers and The Pines are still looking abandoned and sad. Not that I like to see places remain derelict, but there’s something about a lonely structure that has seen better days that I just cannot take my eyes off of. They are so much more fabulous than the newly constructed shite of today.
Grossinger razed building by Joe4Speed
Grossinger pool by Abandoned But Not Forgotten
Pines entrance by Marilyn Carolyn
Pines Lobby by Opacity
How friggen cool is this bathroom? Pines.
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I attended a Catskills Institute conference about five summers ago. I thought it was very informative and bittersweet. I think I was the only shiksa there. We bought a house up there mainly because I thought Viggo Mortensen would come by and sell me blouses (among other things).
My Jewish husband spent his summers in a bungalow colony in Beacon.
Comment by Priscilla — April 2, 2008 @ 11:06 am
Ok, what Viggo Mortensen film are you talking about?
Where was there a bungalow colony in Beacon? That’s where I am now. Didn’t know the Jews did Dutchess County.
Comment by RH — April 2, 2008 @ 1:06 pm
Walk on the Moon
Bungalow colony was 4 miles S of Beacon off of 9D towards the river—Dritsas Lane(he owned the diner on Main Street) 8 bungalows 7 Jewish families and one goyish family.
there was a Hotel Beacon—a summer camp with a large cement building and many wooden bungalows—casino–lake etc
it was affiliated with the US Communist Party as closed down during the McCarthy period in the early 50s–we were adjacent to the hotel–1/2 mile away
I’m Priscillas’s husband and we went up there from 1951-mid 70s
Passed by the area about a month ago and the road from 9D was all grown over
Comment by Priscilla — April 2, 2008 @ 8:27 pm
I had a short-lived career as a chambermaid at one of the Irish resorts…I was more interested in drinking with the cute boys than cleaning rooms though…
Is this the part where I admit my parent’s used to one of these (not one you mentioned though)? My Dad fired me because I couldn’t make a bed to save my life. I short-sheeted everyone.
Comment by iloveupstate — April 2, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
my words got cut off and my typing sucks…my parents owned one these joints…
Comment by iloveupstate — April 2, 2008 @ 8:37 pm
Thanks for the info! Now I can pretend I know something about Beacon. Since I split my time between here and Brooklyn, I’m always out of the loop. People are like “How could you not know that? Don’t you live here?” And I’m like “Well…”
Irish boys drinking? I never heard such a thing!
Comment by RH — April 3, 2008 @ 5:44 am
it’s true! it’s true! they really like TEA.
Comment by iloveupstate.com — April 3, 2008 @ 2:02 pm
Actually…you just brought up an interesting point. I wonder which they would be more reluctant to give up: the tea or the Guinness.
Comment by RH — April 3, 2008 @ 3:08 pm
[...] see: Borscht Belt. Then & Now. addthis_url = [...]
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