Beautiful Pictures Of Abandoned Grossinger’s Resort in the in the Catskills Before It Was Demolished. In the Catskill region of New York State lie the crumbling ruins of Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel. The resort, Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel, began its life in the 1919, and in its heyday was the fulcrum of the swirling midcentury vacation scene in the Catskills.
The Grossingers originally moved to the area in 1914, purchasing a small farmhouse with the intention of planting crops. The land, however, proved infertile; Asher and Malke were forced to make other arrangements, and so they began their career as hoteliers. In 1919, the family purchased the land that Grossinger’s currently sits on. The raised a small hotel, with running water and electricity. It expanded rapidly.
The Grossinger’s Resort soon spread to over 35 buildings covering 1,200 acres including its own private airfield. The main building contained an enormous dining room capable of seating 1,300 guests; under the dining room there was a vast, cavernous night club called the “Terrace Room.” Grossinger’s was considered the most glamorous of the Catskills’ resorts. It was visited by politicians and celebrities and was where Eddie Fisher and Elizabeth Taylor were married.
By the 1950s the resort featured a ski hill, tennis courts, a golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a skating rink and theatres. By the time work on Grossinger’s Resort was complete, it was one of the largest in the Borscht Belt. It largely catered to Jewish clientele traveling from New York City, and by the 1950s and ’60s began accepting non-Jewish visitors.
By the time Jennie Grossinger passed in 1972, the resort’s inevitable downfall had already begun. Air travel, once reserved for the wealthiest of Americans, was becoming increasingly accessible. One by one, the resorts of the Catskills, much like their counterparts in the nearby Poconos, were boarded up and shuttered. In 1986, Grossinger’s 71-year fairy tale came to an end when the resort was sold to hotel and resort giant Servico.
Although the golf course continued to operate, and remains open as of 2018, Servico declined to re-open the hotel due to the high costs of renovating and maintaining it. Grossinger’s was purchased by Louis Cappelli through his Cappelli Enterprises Company in September 2013, with the intention of demolishing the buildings and constructing a casino and new hotel, under the expectation that gambling would eventually come to Sullivan County.
Demolition of Grossinger’s Resort began during the summer of 2018 and continued until that October. Prior to this, the property had largely fallen into disrepair. The outdoor tennis courts and swimming pools lie abandoned. The ice rink, hotel rooms, and golf pro’s clubhouses are covered in moss and ivy. The indoor swimming pool has turned into a living greenhouse.
The last time Grossinger’s was in the news was in 2019, when a news report revealed Sullivan Resorts LLC planned to construct a $50 million resort on the property. This would include a 250-room hotel, private residences and a convention center.
