I lived in Grossinger's in 1986 through 1988 after it was closed. My family moved to the resort from West Palm Beach, FL after the company my father worked for, Servico, bought the hotel out of bankruptcy in 1986. My father, Robert Lehman, was the Vice President/Managing Director of the resort when it was acquired. Unfortunately, as you all know, the plans fell through as the enormous costs of repairing, renovating, and back-taxes were just too much. The same fate awaited numerous companies who attempted the same feat.
I went to Liberty High School when we lived there, and worked at Grossinger's Golf Course. In my spare time, I was an explorer. Armed with only a flashlight, I explored every nook and cranny of the gigantic resort. Every guest room, tunnel, basement. Every inch. Regrettably, I never thought to record my travels with photographs. I never realized exactly how important it was at the time like I do now, which is why I made this website about it. If I knew then that I'd have one of the only websites about Grossinger's today, I would have documented everything. Hindsight truly is 20/20 isn't it?
Even though I never got to experience Grossinger's heyday, I have grown to appreciate and admire what it was and how many lives it has affected through its many years of operation. Through my journeys exploring the hotel, I came across every artifact from the years that the hotel was in operation, and found myself daydreaming what it must have been like to actually experience it. It is an incredible shame that such a beautiful resort with such a rich history has been forgotten. It saddens me to see what has become of Grossinger's, along with the other Catskill resorts such as The Concord, The Pines, The Nevele, etc... I think to myself often if only I had the means to buy the resort and make something of it, I would without hesitation.
I consider myself extremely honored to have experienced Grossinger's, and that is why I started this website, so people from all over can reminisce about the good times they have had there. I receive alot of e-mails from people all over the world sharing their thoughts and memories with me about their time spent at Grossinger's. Some people are happy that I brought back their good memories, some people are understandably sad, some people are even angered that I show what it has become today. Since there were so few websites dealing with Grossinger's, and almost NO history about it, the very least I could do is start a site so people could go back and remember what it was like. We will always have our memories, and as far as I'm concerned, Grossinger's will live on forever as long as people remember how special it was.
I can only thank the Grossinger family for providing such an amazing place, for changing my life and my appreciation for a life that I never knew. My experience at Grossinger's has changed me, and made me understand an era that I never knew existed. It truly must be the hardest for them to see what has become of Grossinger's, but I can't imagine how it must feel to have made such an impact on thousands upon thousands of people that have walked through the doors. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Very sincerely yours, Joe Lehman
You can enable/disable right click