Borscht Belt

TheBorscht Belt, orYiddish Alps, is a region which was noted for its summer resorts that catered toJewishvacationers, especially residents ofNew York City.The resorts, now mostly defunct, were located in the southern foothills of theCatskill Mountainsin parts ofSullivanandUlstercounties in theU.S. stateofNew York, bordering the northern edges of theNew York metropolitan area.
"In its heyday, as many as 500 resorts catered to guests of various incomes."These resorts, as well as the Borscht Belt bungalow colonies, were a popular vacation spot for New York City Jews from the 1920s through the 1960s.By the late 1950s, many began closing, with most gone by the 1970s, but some major resorts continued to operate, a few into the 1990s.
The name comes fromborscht, a soup ofUkrainianorigin (made withbeetsas the main ingredient, giving it a deep reddish-purple color)that is popular in many Central and Eastern European countries and brought byAshkenazi JewishandSlavicimmigrants to the United States. The alliterative name was coined byAbel Green, then editor ofVariety, and is a play on existing colloquial names for other American regions (such as theBible BeltandRust Belt).An alternate name, theYiddish Alps,was used byLarry Kingand is satirical: a classic example of borscht belt humor.
After the expansion of the railway system including the tracksOntario and Westernas well as theUlster and Delaware Railroad,the area of theCatskill Mountainsbecame a tourist destination because of the beauty of the landscape, which impressed the painters ofAmerican Romanticism, and because of the rising popularity offly fishingin itstrout-rich rivers. As New York City streets would bake in the summer and air-conditioning was not yet available, people flocked to the Catskills.
In the early 1900s, some hotels' and resorts' advertisements refused to accept Jews and indicated "No Hebrews orConsumptives" in their ads.This discrimination led to a need for alternative lodging that would readily accept Jewish families as guests. Visits to the area by Jewish families were already underway "as early as the 1890s ...Tannersville... was 'a great resort of our Israelite breathren [sic]' ... from the 1920s on [there were] hundreds of hotels."The larger hotels provided "Friday night and holiday services as well as kosher cooking", thus supporting religious families to take a vacation in accordance to their customs.
Borscht Belt hotels, bungalow colonies, summer camps, andkuchaleyns(kuch-alein, literally: "Cook it yourself",aYiddishname for self-catered boarding houses)flourished. The bungalows usually included "a kitchen/living room/dinette, one bedroom, and a screened porch" with entertainment at the casino, the communal center, being simple: bingo or a movie.Thekuchaleynswere often visited by lower middle-class and working-class Jewish New Yorkers. Because of the many Jewish guests, this area was nicknamed theYiddishAlpsorSolomon County(amalapropismofSullivan County) by many people who visited there.
A sufficient choice of Jewish cuisine was an important feature of the hotels in the Borscht Belt, and "too much was not enough" developed as a notion.Jonathan Sarnawrote: "To understand the emphasis on food, one has to understand hunger. Immigrants had memories of hunger, and in the Catskills, the food seemed limitless."The singles scene was also important; many hotels hired young male college studentsto attract single girls of a similar age. One book on the era contended that "the Catskills became one great marriage broker."
Borscht Belt resorts stood in towns such asLiberty,Fallsburg,Mamakating,Thompson,BethelandRocklandin Sullivan County as well asWawarsingandRochesterin Ulster County. Such resorts included Avon Lodge, Brickman's,Brown's, Butler Lodge,The Concord,Grossinger's, Granit, the Heiden Hotel, Irvington,Kutsher's Hotel and Country Club, theNevele, Friar Tuck Inn, the Laurels Hotel and Country Club, the Pines Resort,Raleigh Hotel, the Overlook, the Tamarack Lodge, Shady Nook Hotel and Country Club, Stevensville, Stier's Hotel, and the Windsor. Some of these hotels originated from farms that Jewish immigrants established in the early part of the 20th century.
Two of the larger hotels in High View (just north ofBloomingburg) wereShawanga Lodgeand the Overlook. One of the high points ofShawanga Lodge's existence came in 1959 when it was the site of a conference of scientists researchinglaser beams. The conference marked the start of serious research into lasers.The hotel burned to the ground in 1973.The Overlook, which offered rooms in the main building as well as bungalows, spiced up with entertainment, was operated by the Schrier family.
The Borscht Belt reached its peak in the 1950s and 60s with over 500 resorts, 50,000 bungalows, and 1,000 rooming housesbut the start of a decline was apparent by the late 1960s. "Railways began cutting service to the area, the popularity of air travel increased, and a younger generation of Jewish-Americans chose other leisure destinations."A secondary factor was that "anti-Semitism declined, so Jews could go other places."
Access to the area improved with the opening of theGeorge Washington Bridgeand upgrade of old travel routes such as oldNew York State Route 17. On the other hand, passenger train access ended with the September 10, 1953 termination of passenger trains on theOntario and Western Railwaymainline fromRoscoeat the northern edge of Sullivan County, through the Borscht Belt, toWeehawken, New Jersey.A 1940 vacation travel guide published by the railroad listed hundreds of establishments that were situated at or near the railway's stations.The following year, theNew York Centralceased running passenger trains on its Catskill Mountain Branch.The area suffered as a travel destination in the late 1950s and especially by the 1960s. Another source also confirms that "cheap air travel suddenly allowed a new generation to visit more exotic and warmer destinations."More women remained in the workforce after marriage and could not take off for the entire summer to relocate to the Catskills.
ATimes of Israelarticle specifies that "the bungalow colonies were the first to go under, followed by the smaller hotels. The glitziest ones hung on the longest" with some continuing to operate in the 1980s and even in the 1990s.Bungalow colonies fell into disrepair or many of the nicer ones have been converted into ahousing co-op.TheConcord Resort Hotel, which outlasted most other resorts, went bankrupt in 1997 but survived until 1998 and was subsequently demolished for a possible casino site.By the early 1960s, some 25 to 30 percent ofGrossinger's Catskill Resort Hotelvisitors were not Jewish;nevertheless it closed in 1986.
The Stevensville Hotel inSwan Lakewas located on the shores of an artificial reservoir of the West BranchMongaup Riverwhich fed atannerysince the 1840s.It was commissioned in 1924 and managed by the Dinnerstein and Friehling familiesuntil around 1990.It reopened asSwan Lake Resort Hotelin 1999 offering Asian cuisine plus Tennis & Golf facilities but only survived until 2007.In 2015 the ultra-OrthodoxCongregation Iched Anash bought the property for $2.2 millionand began to operate theSatmarBoys Camp, a religious summer school (yeshiva gedolah).
In 1987,New York CitymayorEd Kochproposed buying the Gibber Hotel in Kiamesha Lake to house the homeless. The idea was opposed by local officialsand the hotel instead became the religious school Yeshiva Viznitz.
The Granit Hotel and Country Club, located in Kerhonkson, boasted many amenities, including a golf course. It closed in 2015 and was renovated and turned into the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa, which closed in 2018. The property was sold in May 2019 to Hudson Valley Holding Co. LLC. The company did not announce its plans for the hotel.
As of the 2010s, the region is a summer home for manyOrthodox Jewishfamilies.Some of the hotels have been converted intorehab centers,meditation centersor Orthodox Jewish hotels and resorts.The former Homowack Lodge inPhillipsportwas converted into a summer camp forHasidicgirls. Officials of the state Department of Health ordered the property evacuated in July 2009, citing health and safety violations.The Orthodox Jews who flock to the region each summer provide commerce that the area would not have otherwise.The Flagler Hotel, Nemerson, Schenk's and Windsor Hotels in South Fallsburg, and the Stevensville Hotel in Swan Lake, were converted into Jewish religious summer camps.
In 1984, the Catskills division ofHatzalahwas founded which covers the Borscht Belt and served the needs of a growing Orthodox clientele; as of 2020 a volunteer force of 450 rescue workers and paramedics is operating a fleet of 18 ambulances. Although financially independent from the other chapters, it cooperates in day-to-day business with Central Hatzalah of NYC as the 17. neighborhood and also with State Forces (police, forest rangers, emergency medical services, fire departments).
Many Buddhist and Hindu retreat centers have been constructed on the land or in the restored buildings of former camps or resorts to serve adherents in New York City, the establishment of which has then drawn even more temples and centers to the area. This led to the coining of the nicknames "Buddha Belt," "BhajanBelt" and "Buddhist Belt" to refer to the area's revival.
Despite the region's decline as a cultural epicenter, a handful of traveling acts, such as theDoox of Yale, continue to regularly tour the Borscht Belt.
Between 2013 and 2018, the decaying state of the abandoned resorts was captured by severalruins photographers:
The tradition of Borscht Belt entertainment started in the early 20th century with the Paradise Garden Theatre constructed  inHunter, New YorkbyYiddish theaterstarBoris Thomashefsky.A cradle of American Jewish comedy since the 1920s, the Borscht Belt entertainment circuit has helped launch the careers of many famous comedians and acted as a launchpad for those just starting out.
Comedianswho got their start or regularly performed in Borscht Belt resorts include:
Borscht Belt humor refers to the rapid-fire, often self-deprecating style common to many of these performers and writers.Typical themes include:
The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project was founded by Marisa Scheinfeld, a noted Borscht Belt historical photographer, author, and Borscht Belt documentarian, in 2022.Scheinfeld had photographed the detritus of the former Borscht Belt hotels, bungalows, and historically important sites. She recognized the complete absence of any historical interpretive roadside markers documenting the sites of the former Borscht Belt.
The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project initiated a unique program to place 20 vertical interpretive highway markers strategically sited to tell the story of the Borscht Belt and interpret the specific locations. The markers are enhanced with QR pegs for more in-depth explanations. A self-guided audio tour system is being developed.
The markers are double-sided with representative images. All carry an interpretive text about the specific area on one side and the following common text about the Borscht Belt on the other side: 
"From the 1920s through the early 1970s, the Borscht Belt was the preeminent summer resort destination for hundreds of thousands of predominantly east coast American Jews. The exclusion of the Jewish community from existing establishments in the 1920s drove Jewish entrepreneurs to create over 500 resorts, 50,000 bungalows and 1,000 rooming houses in Sullivan County and parts of Ulster County. The Borscht Belt provided a sense of community for working and vacationing Jews. The era exerted a strong influence on American culture, particularly in the realm of entertainment, music, and sports. Some of the most well-known and influential people of the 20th century worked and vacationed in the area. Beginning around 1960, the Borscht Belt began a gradual demise due to many factors including the growth of suburbia, inexpensive airfare, and generational changes."
As of 2024, the Program has completed and sited nine markers in Sullivan County - Monticello, Mountain Dale, Swan Lake, Fallsburg, Kiamisha Lake, South Fallsburg, Hurleyville, Bethel, and Woodridge. Loch Sheldrake, Parksville, Livingston Manor, and Ellenville are being prepared for 2025.  Six additional markers are planned for 2026. The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project is funded by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.
The Heiden Hotel inSouth Fallsburgwas the film location of the 1987 movieSweet LorrainestarringMaureen Stapleton. It was destroyed by fire in May 2008 while no longer hosting guests.
In the same year, the movieDirty Dancingreplayed the heyday of the Borscht Belt in an upscale resort. The plot was inspired by thescreenwriter's experienceas a teenager in the summertime community atGrossinger's.
In the graphic novelMaus: A Survivor's Tale(1991),Art Spiegelman's father Vladek spends the summer in a bungalow settlement in the Catskills and visits with his son at the nearby The Pines resort.
In the second season of the seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel(2017–23), both the Weissman and Maisel families spend a summer vacation at Steiner's Resort in the Catskills, depicted by Scott's Family Resort on Oquaga Lake inDeposit, NY.
Also,Jason Reitman's historical dramedy film,Saturday Night(2024), depicts the chaos surrounding the 1975 telecast production hassles ofLorne Michaels(Gabriel LaBelle) and the ensemble cast during theseries premiereofSaturday Night Live. In one scene,Brad Garrettplays an unidentified Borscht Belt stand-up comedian whose routine is bombing, but whose Borscht-esque humor is being transcribed by writerAlan Zweibel(portrayed byJosh Brener).