Grossinger's

1919-1986

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433 new pictures from John Iwanicki HERE!

New pictures from Lizzie Bratko of the staff rooms above the maintenance building! HERE!

Concord is demolished. News HERE

Here's a nice YouTube video from Brian Craig! Great job, Brian!! Click Here!!

The Grossinger family came to the United States around 1910 from a section of Poland that was part of the Austrian Empire. After failing at several professions in New York City, the religious family chose Ferndale because of its established orthodox community - and because the Grossinger's were farmers. In 1914, the Grossinger's bought some property and opened a small farmhouse. They had planned to grow crops there, but the soil was not good enough for their farming, and quickly realized there was more money in taking boarders in. The first summer they had nine guests, and the next year so many came up that the overflow slept outdoors.

In 1919, the Grossinger's purchased the Nicolas Farm one mile away from their property. They called their new establishment Grossinger's Hotel, which had plumbing and electricity. For years they also owned cows, from which they got fresh milk daily. Jennie Grossinger was the leading force behind Grossinger's. She was a well-known figure in the Catskills, known for treating every guest like a part of the family.

Grossinger's started small but quickly grew. New buildings sprung up in the popular "Sullivan County Tudor" style, and new activities were added to keep up with the times. Grossinger's always had the best people running activities, and was known for its unique features such as expensive sports facilities. More than anything else, Grossinger's was a starting point for hundreds of would-be big stars. Everyone got their start in the Catskills, and Grossinger's was the hot spot.

At its height, Grossinger's was so encompassing that it had its own airport and post office (Grossinger, New York). The reason behind the post office was simple: the Town of Liberty was known for its sanitariums, and Grossinger's didn't want to be associated with this; so they became a town. After Jennie Grossinger died, the force behind the hotel diminished and it closed in the late 1980s. Its legacy will live on forever. You can still catch Grossinger's personality Lou Goldstein with his popular Simon Sez comedy show at various hotels and on television.

© 1991, 2000 Scott Eckers (used with permission)

(Please be patient for pages to load, some pictures are pretty large!!)

Above: The Main building being razed in 1986 with a couple hotel employees looking on.

Above: Bulldozer digging deep into the lobby.

Above: Upper hotel room floors falling into where the lobby was.

Above: The remains of the Main Building.

Above: Standing on the Pool Wing roof, looking at where the Main building was. The building there is the dining room, to the left with the flat roof is the Verandah, and the large door to the middle left leads to the Pink Elephant lounge which remained just as it was the day the employees left, as much of the hotel was left the same way.

Above: A B&W of my Father, Robert J. Lehman Jr., and Renee Freidman watching on...

Above: Another picture of my Father and Renee Freidman. Note the two different jackets they were wearing. The old on the left, and the new company on the right.

Demolition of the Playhouse.

Above: The famous Playhouse being razed.

Above: Across the street from my house where they burned all the buildings that were razed. Burning there was the main building.

Above: Where we lived on the grounds. To the left of us lived Elaine Grossinger-Etess, and to the right lived Bernie Rothman.

Above: Back view of our house from the main road winding it's way around the complex and up to the golf course.

Above: A picture of my father, Robert J. Lehman Jr., looking through a full office room housing all of Grossinger's memorabilia. (I wonder where it all went?)

Please sign the guestbook! Click here!

Grossinger's from 1979-1983 | Grossinger's in 1986 | Grossinger's in 2000 | Grossinger's in 2004 | Grossinger's in 2005 | Grossinger's in 2006 | Grossinger's in 2007 | Grossinger's in 2008 | Submitted Pictures | Before and After | Grossinger's Directory and Demolition Map | Renovation Plans | Grossinger's Media | Grossinger's from Air and Space | Grossinger's Links | Grossinger's Home | My History With Grossinger's

Newly added links are in RED.

Comments? Suggestions? Send me an e-mail at Grossingers@joe4speed.com

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