Colleen Kane

Abandoned Borscht Belt 3: The Pines

Last October, I explored the abandoned site of The Pines resort in South Fallsburg, New York.

(Image via this wonderful collection of vintage resort postcards)

The Pines had 400 guest rooms, a golf course, tennis courts, a ski chalet, an ice rink, and two swimming pools. Its theater and nightclub hosted the usual Jewish Alps entertainers of the day such as Robert Goulet and Buddy Hackett. It closed in 1998 when a developer bought the property from the Ehrlich family. This article details the bankruptcy of that developer and possible future for the property.

The postcard above shows what The Pines looked like in the 1960s. As you might imagine, it doesn't look like this bright and tidy any more.

 

Abandoned Borscht Belt 2: Mohonk Mountain House and Tamarack Lodge

Earlier this month, Leah and I continued our exploration of the former Jewish Alps (part 1 is here). We spent the weekend  with a great group of hosts (who fast became new pals) in the town of Rosendale, which I found positively charming (and just now realized I'd read about before in the Times).

Leah and I began on Saturday with the still-in-business Mohonk Mountain House, which is often cited as the inspiration for The Shining. It was also seen in No Reservations, in the episode when Tony went up the Hudson. The enormous lodge's hodgepodge of structural styles made a much more dramatic impression in person than it did on the show.

 

 

 

Busy as a Brooklyn Bound B

Someone has been working by night in my neighborhood putting up words on what was until recently just an unsightly parking deck.

Today is an anniversary of an infamous day, but I've reached saturation point on that subject (and yet still keep watching the documentaries, and then having to turn the channel away to something cleansing and dopey like It's a Mad, Mad Mad Mad World).

I was reminded today that (almost) everyone alive is fortunate to be here. And when I walk to the subway in the morning, I pass at the building seen in the above right foreground, the NYC Job Center, a line of grim faces and momentarily feel lucky to be going to a job, however much I may not have wanted to deal until then. But a different reason to stop and assess appeared in my morning walk to the subway recently.

The First Cut is the Creepest: Revisiting the Childhood Trauma of the Original Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

No single film has affected my life more than a humble made-for-TV movie from 1973 called Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark, which served as the scary movie deflowering of many impressionable young minds of Generation X. It seemed to run at least one Saturday afternoon every month of the 1980s on WPIX channel 11. Whenever it did, my older brother and I sat transfixed on the basement’s loop pile carpet (in three tones of brown), filled with dread.

Spoiler alert--but if you didn’t watch this movie as a child, it’s already spoiled.

 

I Sent More Coo-Coo Mail to Sierra Club

Perhaps you recall my ongoing correspondence with the Sierra Club. Perhaps additionally, as a probable resident of the United States, you are aware of the heat wave going on. Well! If you would like to know what happens when your hostess receives correspondence from her favorite extravagant envelope-stuffers while crazy from the heat, read on!

So, I got another mailing from the Sierra Club.

 

Abandoned Borscht Belt: Grossinger's Resort and a Schmear of Kutcher's

I've been back in Brooklyn for a year now. While still living in Baton Rouge, I began researching Kutcher's resort. It's the last operational resort in the Catskills' Borscht Belt, and I was pitching a story about it (no one bit, and I'm still very interested in writing this and similar). From there, I found a wealth of information and photos online covering numerous abandoned resorts in the region. I envied the people who could explore those places and dreamed of doing it myself. Well my dear friends and readers, that dream came true last weekend.

Leah, her German Shorthaired Pointer, Otto, and I set off Friday night to Parksville, NY, settling at a campground occupied by 85% seasonal campers from Long Island who tool around the property on golf carts (I caught a ride with one such fellow named Louie, who decorated the front of his cart in gold and black mailbox letters reading B DA BING BADA BOOM). For the first time, camping wasn't just about sitting around the fire BS-ing and telling funny stories. It was like the night before Christmas, with thoughts on tomorrow's exploration of ruins.

The first stop Saturday was the nearby old time downtown of Liberty where we threw down some Mexcellent food (friend me on Yelp!), and then we were off on the mission.

I Sent Coo-coo Mail to Sierra Club

Long time no blog! (Blogging in 2011? Tl;dr!) It's been a rough first half of 2011, to be honest. I'm not really myself. So you'll have to forgive me, but after coming home to yet another mailing from Sierra Club, I had to respond in a way that I knew would be recieved as crazy when it reached its destination. And I also had to share it with you. 

(unreadably small illustrative preview:)

Scenes From a Mall

The Fulton Mall has been my neighbor for 10 years (minus My Time Away). I wrote about it in my latest Brooklyn Based column here, please give it a read.

As I mention in the column, this pedestrian mall can be not so aesthetically pleasing, but I felt challenged to hunt for some beauty. Now that its current state is endangered, I finally motivated to take some photos in the morning light, before shops opened.

This historic building (formerly Conway) will be converted to lofts. To the left is where H&M is being built.

Incognito with the Guidos + Bonus Material

Well, my nonexisitent dream of getting into Penthouse magazine before my 37th birthday came true. My in-depth investagative report Incognito with the Guidos came out in the February issue, released on the day before my birthday, including not very good photos I took of my attempted transformation into guidette. I thought I'd share some more photos from that mission here.

If you haven't read the story yet, please do. If you have, click through for the photos.

Come Hear About Grown Up Life Skills

I am very fortunate to host a reading series at Union Hall called Show and Tell, and the next one is set for two days before my birthday, on Jan 17, which is also MLK day. The theme this month is Home Economics.

We have presentations on grooming! food! and fashion! from:

Giulia Rozzi

Kurt Opprecht

Brandy Barber

Kyle Supley

What kinds of "show" happens at Show and Tell? So far, presenters have shown photos, video, actual subject props from the stories being told, an eyewitness, live musical performance, letters, emails, pantomime, no-budget animation, and a horrifying poster. 

So, I know it's crap weather out, but do come. There's even a giveaway from Etsy shop DaSweetZpot,  where the winner can choose from prizes including handcrafted Italian jams and jellies, and an invention called the potato pouch, which allows you to microwave a potato in five minutes without it turning into a big weird wrinkle, and/or treats like chocolate fudge with chipotle, which looks like this when it's being made:

See? You are learning about home economics already.

It feels good to go to live shows in winter once you drag your arse out. If you won't make the show but want to show support, please like Show and Tell on Facebook.