In its heyday, Grossinger’s attracted over 150,000 revelers each year to be entertained by the likes of Jerry Lewis and Milton Berle. And Grossinger’s was the glitziest of them all. During the 1950s, the definition of a summer vacation for many Jewish New Yorkers was to head upstate to the holiday resorts of the Catskills. Grossinger’s Resort was once the jewel in the crown of the so-called Borscht Belt. The story involves a forgotten hero from the golden age of aviation, a mysterious forest castle once owned by the Freemasons, and an invasion of German saboteurs during World War II.Ī postcard showing Grossinger’s pool. (Photo: Courtesy of the Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection)ĭuring a recent expedition to explore the abandoned holiday resort of Grossinger’s, located in the Catskills in upstate New York, I came across a charming old photography studio in the neighboring town of Liberty.ĭecorated in beautiful tile, with Art Deco flourishes, and currently home to a small print shop, it was to become the key to unearthing a remarkable tale of undiscovered Nazi treasure, hidden right there in Sullivan County, New York State. Dundas Castle (Craig E Claire).Liberty monoplane over New York City on first leg of its flight to Denmark, with Otto Hillig, photographer, and Capt. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Sokolow, Jane (2015).National Historic Landmark summary listing. ^ "National Register Information System".
In 2005, the Mason entered into a conservation easement with Open Space Conservancy, The easement limits future development on the property and protects its historic structures. The building and property were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Named Camp Eureka, this is the main activity of the site today. Over time, they added new structures and turned the property into a summer camp for inner-city youth. This was a Manhattan-based organization of African American Masons who wanted to create "a Masonic home for the aged and indigent." Unfortunately, that project did not happen, so Mason's developed the property into a vacation retreat, using a barn as a recreation center, an old farmhouse for administration, and the castle for a fishing and hunting resort. In 1949, Muriel sold the property for $47,000 to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the Masonic Order. The castle was inherited by their daughter Muriel, along with some $40 million, but she did not go back to the Catskills and the castle. ĭesigned in the Gothic Revival and Elizabethan Revival styles, the 36-room residence was constructed between 19, but never completed or occupied by Dundas or his wife Josephine because he died in 1921. The reception room's fireplace was covered in gold leaf and valued at more than $5,000 in 1910. The only local product used was stone from the nearby Beaverkill River. Construction photographs show Beaverkill Lodge being "encapsulated within the castle structure." For his European-style castle, Dundas imported slate roofing from England, iron gates France, and marble from Italy for floors, fireplaces, and staircases.
ĭundas wanted to expand the existing Beaverkill Lodge into the finest mansion his money could buy. He eventually shortened his name to Dundas. Wurts-Dundas was a wealthy and prominent New Yorker and grandson of William Wurts, one of three brothers who built the Delaware & Hudson Canal. Four years later, Stembach sold it to Ralph Wurts-Dundas in 1907. In 1903, the Gilberts sold the property to Morris Stembach. Gilbert's new wife, Maria, was Irish said "the Catskill scenery reminded her of home." She named the surrounding hamlet Craig–e–Clair which translates as "beautiful mountainside." Wurts-Dundas Era On this property, Gilbert constructed his summer retreat, Beaverkill Lodge. In the late 1880s, New York architect Bradford Gilbert acquired nearly 1,000 acres (400 ha) in the Catskill Mountains in what is now Roscoe, New York. An earlier structure, Beaverkill Lodge that was designed by Bradford Gilbert was built around 1891, was incorporated into the Castle. 18–1924) and also called Craig–E–Clair, is located in Roscoe, Sullivan County, New York and was designed for Ralph Wurts-Dundas.
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