Borscht Belt Museum coming to the Catskills. 'Mrs. Maisel' helped reignite interest in era
As the Town of Fallsburg’s building inspector, Allen Frishman witnessed the bulldozing of countless dilapidated hotels and bungalow colonies that dotted the Catskill Mountains.
But realizing he was privy to the last remains of the Borscht Belt era, Frishman rescued signs, phone booths, porcelain tables, chairs, tchotchkes and ephemera from places like The Pines, Raleigh Hotel and The Aladdin.
“There was so much left over from the heyday,” Frishman said recently. “Families just walked away from their property.”
Frishman, who chronicled his discoveries in his book “Tales of a Catskill Mountain Plumber,” stored the mementos in a pair of sheds behind his home in Mountain Dale.
“It’s a very important piece of Americana that is going to disappear unless we provide safe haven for the items and the stories and the photographs,” said Frishman, 72.
His collection soon will be heading to a new museum in the village of Ellenville in Ulster County that will celebrate the period from roughly the 1920s to early 1970s when summers brought thousands of Jewish vacationers to the Catskills.After a dozen years and several false starts, plans for a Borscht Belt Museum have been announced, with inaugural events taking place — when else? — this summer.
Thanks, Mrs. Maisel
The museum acquired a 1928 neo-Georgian building in Ellenville that once held Home National Bank, which itself played a role in the Borscht Belt’s heyday. Home National was one of the few banks willing to finance Jewish hoteliers and bungalow colony owners, according to the museum’s founders.
A popup exhibit featuring artifacts from Frishman’s collection and other objects will debut in the museum’s main hall July 1 and run through the fall, offering a taste of what’s planned for a full opening in two years. On July 29, the first Borscht Belt Fest will take place at several spots in Ellenville.
The festival is “putting Ellenville and the Catskills back on the cultural map,” said Andrew Jacobs of Wawarsing, co-president of the museum’s board of trustees.
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The nonprofit group is hitching a ride on the wave of interest in the region’s history.
“It’s a real zeitgeist moment,” said Jacobs, 57. “I think for many, many years there was this sense of sadness, of loss, associated with the Borscht Belt era, and I think now what you’re seeing is just a cherishing and interest in this period. Yes, it’s spurred by ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,’ but there’s also been this rising interest in mid-century modern design and culture.”
Millions shared 'indelible' Catskills experience
The museum project gained a sense of urgency with the aging of a generation of Jews who found respite in “the mountains” during a time when they weren’t welcome elsewhere, Jacobs added.
The museum’s list of advisory board members includes Fran Drescher, Harvey Fierstein, Judd Hirsch, Robert Klein and Richard Lewis — a fitting cast for a place where some of the nation’s top comedians got their start.
The group purchased the building for $468,000 from Somerset Properties, which is developing property that once held The Nevele — one of the region’s iconic hotels — into a luxury resort and housing.
When completed for an anticipated spring 2025 opening, the museum plans to present archival film and audio, lecture and film series, interpretive materials for educators, interactive activities and workshops.
The board has raised over $250,000 of the project’s $5 million budget, which includes design, renovations and operating costs, Jacobs said. Most funds so far have come from foundation grants and individual donors.
He’s optimistic about private and public support for the museum, which he sees as an economic driver for Ellenville — a village where an influx of new residents and businesses is creating a sense of optimism.
“There arguably are millions of people who had very, very indelible experiences in the Catskills,” Jacobs said.
Marking Borscht Belt history
The museum isn’t the only project celebrating the region’s past glory this year.
The first of nine dedications by the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project will take place this spring and summer.
The first marker will be unveiled at 4:30 p.m. May 25 at the Ethelbert B. Crawford Library in Monticello, according to Marisa Scheinfeld, a photographer and author who grew up in the Catskills and now lives in Katonah.
Afterward, the documentary “Welcome to Kutsher’s” will be screened, followed by a Q&A with directors Ian Rosenberg and Caroline Laskow.
Two more marker dedications will take place in August in the towns of Mountain Dale and Swan Lake with additional signs debuting this fall at Resorts World Catskills in Monticello and in Fallsburg.
Mountains of memories
The Borscht Belt Museum is celebrating its new home at 90 Canal St. in Ellenville with two events in July.
A popup exhibit of its collection of memorabilia starting July 1.
The first Borscht Belt Fest, a July 29 celebration featuring a street fair with food vendors; panel discussions; and stand-up comedy performances at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville.
Info: Visit borschtbeltmuseum.org or send email to info@borschtbeltmuseum.org
Robert Brum is a freelance journalist who writes about the Hudson Valley. Contact him and read his work at robertbrum.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Borscht Belt Museum in Catskills preserve memories from vacation era
