Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel near the village of Liberty, New York, used to be one of the largest Borscht Belt resorts. It was kosher and catered to Jewish guests from New York City. After almost a century of operation, it closed down in 1986. On Tuesday night, a devastating fire destroyed the vacant relic.
According to the Liberty Fire Department, firefighters from several area towns battled a blaze at the Grossinger’s, but by the time the first crews arrived, the three-and-a-half-story building had already been engulfed in flames, and the column of smoke could be seen from miles away.
Exclusive drone video of the blaze that ripped through the old Grossinger’s resort in the Catskills this evening.
Thanks Schwartz Brothers Media pic.twitter.com/jvAtROGIlM
— The Lakewood Scoop (@LakewoodScoop) August 17, 2022
The Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel served as a summertime getaway for generations of New Yorkers and inspired the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing.” But in recent decades, the property had been abandoned. One of the main buildings was demolished in a fire. https://t.co/KengArMsD9
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 17, 2022
John Hauschild, the fire coordinator at the Sullivan County Bureau of Fire, said there were no injuries, and the cause of the fire was yet to be determined. State Police Trooper Steven Nevel confirmed that the Bureau of Fire and the State Police’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating the fire.
Asher Selig Grossinger moved from New York City to Sullivan County in the Catskill Mountains in the 1900s and rented rooms to visitors from the city. His wife, Malka, operated the kosher kitchen, and Jennie, their daughter, was the hostess. In 1919, they sold their original property and bought a bigger house on 100 acres, which they named Grossinger’s Terrace Hill House.
Over the years, under Jennie Grossinger’s management, the resort expanded to more than 35 buildings, with an enormous dining room capable of seating 1,300 guests in the main building. Below the dining room was the Terrace Room nightclub. Jennie died in 1972 and didn’t see the demise of the traditional kosher hotels in New York’s Catskill mountains.
