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One of the main draws for me in my travels to America has been the Catskill Mountains area of upstate New York and it's many abandoned Jewish holiday resorts. I hope to cross a few more of them off my list on my next trip over but the one which always captured my imagination and the one I was very happy to see last year, Grossingers, is also one of the largest and most famous. Thirty years of decay hasn't been kind.
This is one part of 20th Century American society/history which absolutely fascinates me, the meteoric rise and mid-1980s fall of dozens of these resorts as cheap package holidays and cheap flights swamped the market.
Unfortunately I don't know the rough dates for the comparison images but most of them likely stem from the 1960s heyday.
The first comparison is Grossinger's most iconic area, the indoor swimming pool.
This second shot shows the Olympic sized outdoor pool. After the resort closed in 1986, the Cabana buildings and changing rooms were demolished.
This next pair shows an often overlooked area of the resort as it's separated from the main site by a road. This was the ski lodge, during the winter when it was snowy there was also a toboggan run down the slope. During the summer months Grossinger's became the first place in the USA to use artifical snow on it's slopes.
This pair shows the inside of the Tennis Lodge, located between the all-weather outdoor courts and the indoor courts which were accessed up the small staircase.
And whilst it's not a direct comparison as none of my photos show the perfect angle, this last pair shows the then recently constructed 'Jennie G' hotel building with what it looks like today. After closure in 1986 the two-storey walkways between it and the main complex were demolished.
I hope this provided some interest to you guys
This is one part of 20th Century American society/history which absolutely fascinates me, the meteoric rise and mid-1980s fall of dozens of these resorts as cheap package holidays and cheap flights swamped the market.
Unfortunately I don't know the rough dates for the comparison images but most of them likely stem from the 1960s heyday.
The first comparison is Grossinger's most iconic area, the indoor swimming pool.
This second shot shows the Olympic sized outdoor pool. After the resort closed in 1986, the Cabana buildings and changing rooms were demolished.
This next pair shows an often overlooked area of the resort as it's separated from the main site by a road. This was the ski lodge, during the winter when it was snowy there was also a toboggan run down the slope. During the summer months Grossinger's became the first place in the USA to use artifical snow on it's slopes.
This pair shows the inside of the Tennis Lodge, located between the all-weather outdoor courts and the indoor courts which were accessed up the small staircase.
And whilst it's not a direct comparison as none of my photos show the perfect angle, this last pair shows the then recently constructed 'Jennie G' hotel building with what it looks like today. After closure in 1986 the two-storey walkways between it and the main complex were demolished.
I hope this provided some interest to you guys
