Please follow us on Gab, Minds, Telegram, Rumble, Truth Social, Gettr, Twitter, Youtube
Before the advent of air conditioning and even electric fans, those who could in the 19th century would leave New York City to travel upstate to the Catskill Mountains. Train routes and the famous Hudson River steamboats would chug their way up the Hudson Valley depositing travelers along the way, with many stopping at Catskill, on one side, and on the other, Hudson, New York. Those alighting in Catskill were usually headed for hotels and boarding houses which dotted the villages and burgs tucked away in the ancient mountain range filled with wild, virgin forests, roaring waterfalls, and plenty of fresh, unpolluted air. As is very familiar in American enterprise, each proprietor looked for a special niche offering which could lure the clientele base to this or that “resort.”
The vista from what had been known as “Pine Orchard” in the village of Palenville in the Town of Catskill, in Greene County, New York had been renowned for quite a while before being envisioned as the site for a grand hotel. The Hudson River School of painters were always looking for vantage points from which to immortalize Hudson River Valley scenes. Such luminaries from the world of painting such as Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, Frederich Church, to name just a few, were keen on presenting the valley and the river in ways in which they could capture the stunning natural beauty of the ancient mountain range. Long thought to be the highest mountains in New York State, it was only later that one realized that the Adirondacks deserved that moniker, but not before many had long been convinced that the Catskills were the “Cat’s Meow!”
The view from “Pine Orchard” must be shared in person not only in painting, hence in 1822 a fundraiser was organized to raise funds for “a grand hotel” overlooking the magnificent panorama which many, including this author, maintain rivals any in Europe!
The fundraiser was a success, and gradually the beginning of what would be magnificent hostelry was set in motion much to the satisfaction of the Catskill merchants who were investing and the well-heeled guests who were eager to spend time and money to lodge, dine, and, perhaps more importantly, mingle there.
In what seems like mercurial speed even by today’s standards, the hotel was opened in 1823 to great fanfare. For 20 years the reputation of The Catskill Mountain House steadily grew in stature. Wall Street bankers, hoping to escape the heat of Manhattan, made their way to the summit. More than a few New Yorkers arriving daily on 20 steamboats (each with about 700 passengers) alighted in Catskill destined for the hotel and neighboring hostels and boarding houses. The Catskills and Pine Orchard were becoming a cultural destination well before the Civil War. In 1845, a new even more daring era began: Charles L. Beach who had been leasing the hotel from the Catskill Mountain Association, bought the property outright.
One of the traditions of The Catskill Mountain House was to arise at the crack of dawn to gather at the ledge in front of the main entrance. Not all guests, however, were quite as romantic as those who wished to breath the morning air directly. A number of guests remained in their rooms looking out of their windows probably with a cup of hot tea warming their hands. Indeed, there were thirty bedrooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors affording lovely eastward views from which one could enjoy the same view while waking up just in time to return to bed for a later breakfast.
Who were some of the illustrious guests who visited this bucolic enclave in the Catskill Mountains? Often mentioned are our American notables of Ulysses S. Grant, Chester A. Arthur, and Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. However, international luminaries also ascended to the grand hotel lending cache’ to the reputation of the destination. From the world of literature and entertainment arrived none other than the controversial Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde during his first tour of America. Flamboyant as was his style, he gained the admiration and at times reprobation of some of the locals and guests. He had reached his destination upon the luxurious Hudson River steamboat The Mary Powell. In Woodstock, New York, some exclaimed that no “red-blooded American male” could approve of such a character as Wilde. This was surely the controversy which Wilde delighted in creating to his commercial advantage.
Wilde returned to America later in 1883 this time as a guest rather than a professional lecturer. He acted as theater coach and offered guidance to young amateur actors who performed a play written by then 16-year-old George Wharton Pepper in the gold and white grand ballroom. His demeanor somewhat tempered Wilde became quite beloved as he mingled with guests and actors in a relaxed atmosphere away from the social demands of London and New York City.
With the advent of the motorcar affording greater options for individualized travel, and the Great Depression, the allure of The Catskill Mountain House began a slow yet unstoppable decline. The advent of the Second World War and the attack on Pearl Harbor were a kind of death knell for the CMH. By 1943 none of the traditional activities of the spring season took place at the once venerable establishment. The gentility of the pre-war era had come to an abrupt and shattering end. Finally on November 26, 1950, a hurricane wrought havoc on the once majestic columns of the front main entrance. The final adieu had been written by the hand of Divine Providence.
The most ignoble of endings came to the property on January 25, 1963, when the New York State Conservation Department burned the remnants of the former destination of the wealthy, royalty, politicians, and glitterati of decades gone by.
One can still access the area where the hotel once graced the landscape and enjoy its unique vistas: https://www.greatnortherncatskills.com/attractions/catskill-mountain-house-overlook
Looking upwards from the base of the hill on the ledge of which the hotel stood, one can appreciate the impressive silhouette it must have made to those who had the privilege of gazing upon it in person.
Get the latest on NYC and the Empire State delivered straight to your inbox
