Grossinger's Resort
Basic
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grossinger's_Catskill_Resort_HotelRegion: Liberty, NY
Location
Type: Large residential facilityStatus: Demolished/Destroyed
Opened: 1919
Closed: 1986
Location:
Click map to zoom/pan.
Grossinger’s Resort was a massive “Borsch Belt” resort that served primarily jewish people during its service life. It has since been demolished. The resort featured multiple hotels, a chapel, a ball room, a hair salon, an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, a tennis court, skybridge, post office, golf course, power plant and airport! The resort features multiple eras of architecture, from 1920’s Victorian architecture, to 1970s modernism, which is seen in the last and newest hotel.
History
In 1919, the Grossinger family bought a house along with 100 acres of land. They named it Grossinger’s Terrace Hill House. The hotel became popular and eventually began expanding into a resort. In 1952, Grossinger’s Resort made history by being the first resort to use fake snow for skiing. The same year, the resort tried to get the local O&W train station (Ferndale) renamed to Grossinger’s, but it didn’t happen.
By 1972, the resort was at its peak. Professional boxer Rocky Marciano would train at the resort. The complex consisted of 35 buildings and 1,200 acres, serving 150,000 people per year!
By 1984, the resort was in a heavy decline, just being 2 years from abandonment. The same year, the resort hosted a Woodstock weekend. At the event, a music event was hosted by David-Clayton Thomas, there was a tie-dyeing workshop, and a midnight showing of the Woodstock documentary. Unfortunately for the Grossinger family, this failed to revitalize the resort.
The resort closed in 1986, where it was then sold to Servico. The golf course, however, was kept open. Throughout the years following 1986, the property was juggled across multiple owners. Multiple attempts to reopen the resort, either in part or whole, failed. In 2017, the golf course closed. In 2018, the entire resort (including the golf course facilities) was demolished. The owner as of 2018 hoped to bring casinos to the property.
Photo Gallery
Grossinger’s Resort is the first abandoned building I’ve ever been to. My trip to the resort single-handedly sparked my interest in abandoned buildings, which snowballed into a love for photography, industrial history, hiking, and cycling. I really wonder what my life would be like now if I never went here. One building in, I dropped and broke my point and shoot camera and had to use my phone for the rest of the exploration!
Furthermore, I visited the resort in 2016. At the time, the golf course was still open and operational so I didn’t go over to it.
Grossinger's Resort Sign
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The main entrance sign for [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Entrance
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The entrance booth to the [[ resort // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. Note the “GOLF COURSE CLOSED” sign. The golf course actually was operational (but not opened - it was the winter) when this photo was taken. The newest and last building to be constructed on the resort is also visible in the background.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Wooden Hotel
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This is the first building you would encounter entering [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]. It is entirely wooden, and seemed unstable at the time.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Wooden Hotel Room
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
Here I was able to peek my camera through the window of the [[ wooden hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. Nasty!
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Wooden Hotel Hallway
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The hallway of the [[ wooden hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. As you can see, this entire hotel was trashed.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Laundry Chute
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
On to the [[ next building // Grossinger’s Resort ]] now, we found a laundry chute. Most of the building was a shell and nothing worth taking pictures of (I thought at the time).
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Pool Hotel Hallway
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The hallway of the [[ hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]] that was joined to the indoor pool.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Pool Hotel Elevator
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The hotel shaft (car still visible!) in the [[ hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]] that was joined to the indoor pool.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Looking at the Pool Building from the Hotel
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This is looking at the indoor pool from the [[ hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]] that was joined by the skybridge. If you look to the left, you can see the skybridge.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Skybridge
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
A look inside the skybridge at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]. We determined that the skybridge was too risky to walk across (although we were wrong), so we walked outside to go into the pool building. The following pictures are directly undernearth the pool building due to how we entered.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Showers
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
These were likely the showers at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]. This room was directly below the pool.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Sauna
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The sauna at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Stairs to Pool
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The staircase from the showers to the pool in [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Diving Board
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This is the famous picture of [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]], the diving board in the indoor pool.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Pool Postcard
by unknown - Public domain
A postcard showing what the indoor pool at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]] looked like in its prime.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Pool Deck
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The deck of [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]’s indoor pool deck. In the back, you can see the skybridge.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Pool Ceiling
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The ceiling of the indoor pool at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Ruined Room
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
A ruined room right by the [[ indoor pool // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Room with Bench
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
Another ruined room, this one had a [[ bench // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Back of Main Hotel
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The backside of the main hotel, which is also joined to the [[ pool // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Original Building
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The building in the distance is what I believe to be one of the original buildings on the [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Power Plant
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This is the power plant that was built for [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Inside Power Plant
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
Sadly, the inside of the [[ power plant // Grossinger’s Resort ]] was a shell. There was a large hole in the side, likely made to remove the large generators and other equipment when they were sold.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Big Empty Room
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This was a big empty [[ room // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. Not sure what it was for.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Big Walkway
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
To the left inside of the big empty room was this hallway. The design is quite [[ nice // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Hallway with Rubble
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
A [[ hallway // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Tennis Court
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The outdoor tennis court at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]. Beyond the trees in the back was the operational (at the time) golf course. Yes, we played a game.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Chapel
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This was likely a chapel at the [[ resort // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. Behind this photo were some pews.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Outdoor Pool
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The outdoor pool at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Outdoor Pool Old Photo
by unknown - Public domain
This is what the [[ outdoor pool // Grossinger’s Resort ]] looked like at its peak. This photo was taken at the deep end of the pool. The building seen in the photo did not exist as of 2016.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort New Hotel
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The final building built on the [[ resort // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort New Hotel Hallway
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The hallway inside the newest [[ hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort New Hotel Stairs
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
The stairs up in the [[ hotel // Grossinger’s Resort ]]. There was no banister!
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Chair Room
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
[[ Chair room // Grossinger’s Resort ]] (captioning these is getting tedious)!
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Last Toilet
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
We looked in a lot of rooms. All of them were shells except for one part of a room, where part of the bathroom [[ remained // Grossinger’s Resort ]].
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Liberty View
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
This [[ room // Grossinger’s Resort ]] offered a nice view of Liberty.
[more info]Grossinger's Resort Elevator Motor
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
In a little building on the [[ roof // Grossinger’s Resort ]] were 2 of these elevator motors. I was very surprised they were still there!
[more info]Grossinger's Resort New Hotel Roof
by NEPATrains.org - CC BY-SA 4.0
On the roof of the newest hotel, looking back at [[ Grossinger’s Resort ]]. From nearest to farthest, we see: What was likely the ball room, the main hotel, the power plant, and the pool room!
[more info]