Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-08-10
AMILLION DOLLARCHrCKEN
How the Biggest Mountain Hotel ia
the World Came to be Built. n
Letter From the Catskill IN. " Noun

CAS ssoilA CAHAC III De II
Letter From the Catskill (N " Noun
tains <5 rs j. sas@ Il i.
. Philadelphia lawyers are supposed to
beat the world in their.line, and one of
them, the famous patent lawyer, George
Harding, who has made more money
than he knows what to do with in the
big cases he has had in hand since he
won forfMorse the great Geographic suit
with Bayne, is now INDUCING his fancy
for building the largest, handsomest and
most complete mountain hotel in all Gre
alton. This is how he came to set about
it. For ten years he had been summer
ing at Beachs Catskjll Mountain House
(now Known as the old Mountain House,
where he got good air and such table
fare as suited the convenience Of his in
dependent and opinionated host who
seemed to think he had the monopoly
Of the Catskiu mountain business. One
day Harding wanted some chicken broth
for q sick child, but it was not "chicken
day" at the Mountain House, and none
could be got there, so Harding sent down
to the valley, fifteen miles, and got a
chicken and took it to the kitchen to be
cooked. The landlord objected TO the
trouble Of this, special cooking, and told
Harding crushingly tha+SH he wasn't sat
isfed with the way thea Mel was run he
had better bull l q hotel Of his own. "By
Jove,," said Harding, II never thought
of that! believe will" and he did.
He quietly set about the purchase of all
the adjacent mountain land to the ex-
tent of some $4,000 acres, and then, in
September, $780, started force Of about
/ 1000 men and 400 teams building roads
up the nearly perpendicular mountain
side and erecting huge hotel on the
crest Of the mountain, 5000 feet above
the sea and 500 feet higher than
the chickenless Old Mountain House.
The difficulties in the way of building
these ziz-zag roads up the face Of the
mountain where the engineers said no
dragging the material for the hotel up
them and erecting house Of this size
in the depth of a bitter, stormy winter
were immense, but energy and money
overcame them, and ON June %, 1881.
the l:otel was opened for use. From it's
commanding position and colossal size,
it is a conspicuous feature Of the whole
CatskiIl region, either by day, when it
appears like a white cloud resting on
the mountain top, or at night, when
electric lights throw it out in relief
against the sky like an aerial palace. It
is five stories in height, with stately
wings and piaZzas, and has a frontage Of
612 feet. The dining room has a seating
capacity for 200 guests, and the kitch~
en- can cook for 2,(U people without IN
convenience. The hotel will accomo-
date 900 people readily, and it is pro-
posed to .'uild number Of cottages on
the commanding sites in the neighbour
hood for the use Of other guests. The
house is finished in hard woods, walnut
and ash; the furniture and hangings are
of Eastlake designs; and. in fact, the
whole establishment shows the most Ia
wish expenditure of money in the way
of construction and furnishing.
The hotel is in fact g. hobby Of Mr..
Hardin'gs who has chosen to. expend. his
money in developing the Catskill region
and opening its attractions to conven-
ie1.t access, just as other mllllonaires ex-
pend theirs in yachts and fast horses.
He has already spent about 900 in
the purchase and improvement Of the
land, the erection Oft hotel, &c.; and
the cost or OCnef improvements cOnCem-
plated will swell the outlay to a round
million. Can the hotel be made to pay
interest On this enormous investment?
Perhaps the owner does not expect an
immediate return but is looking to the.
future when he shall have carried out all
his plans, including that Of bringing WIS.,
itors by rail to the very door OF his no.
tel, which will plac e the crown Of the
Catskills within two hours time Of New
York City, and correspondingH easy Of
access to Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Washington. - - H.