![]() ![]() According to a New York Times article from May 10, 1953, there were 538 hotels, 1,000 boarding houses, and 50,000 bungalows in the Catskills. The years 1940 to 1965 were considered the golden age of the Catskills, which peaked in the mid 1950s, says Conway. The area became known as the Borscht Belt, with resorts and bungalow colonies springing up across the region. In its heyday, Grossinger's resort attracted thousands upon thousands of visitors year round, and hosted everything from famed comedians to celebrity weddings © Bettmann via Getty Images “The fact is, they created this resort mecca here because they weren’t welcome in a lot of places.” “We have advertisements, newspaper articles, and correspondence about keeping Jewish families out,” says Conway. ![]() This newfound interest in country wellness coincided with the decline of area farms in the early 1900s, leaving a great number of cheap, plumb properties available, says Conway.Īt the same time, Jews were largely barred from many resorts and hotels in the northern Catskills and elsewhere. ![]() Many people - including doctors - believed the region was a healing environment, a quality touted in railway advertisements of the era. Dotted with pristine lakes ideal for fishing and boating, the Catskills are also home to vast forested land ripe for hiking.Īccording to John Conway, the official historian for Sullivan County, tourism began in the middle of the 19th century, and not just because of the scenery. The Catskills, which span Ulster, Greene, Sullivan, and Delaware counties in New York, are typically 15 to 20 degrees cooler than New York City. These hotels had become a haven for Jewish families looking to escape the hot city each summer. The biggest Borscht Belt resorts attracted stars like Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Barbra Streisand, Lenny Bruce and Muhammed Ali, who trained at the Concord Hotel © Mirrorpix via Getty Images The Golden Age of the Catskills ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |