

This would give investors the appearance that the company was headed in a different direction. In 1986, suffering from financial trouble, accountant Bernard Lipsky convinced Lillian Brown to step down as president of Brown's Hotel so that her grandson Bruce could take over. Bruce Turiansky, the grandson of Charles and Lillian Brown, was at this time serving as vice president and general manager of Brown's Hotel and felt hopeful. Hotel officials were optimistic that the target demographic of a second-home buyer was different from a hotel vacationer and thus hotel business would not suffer. The financers intended to build 250 units initially and eventually several thousand homes in the area. Investors included Hotels International, which had just purchased Grossinger's in November, one of Upstate New York's most popular resorts of the mid-20th century. Model luxury townhouses opened in early December of that year with cathedral ceilings and fireplaces. The three resorts began constructing residences for families seeking second homes in the mountains, living on the grounds of once great hotels and, for an additional fee, enjoying their athletic and entertainment amenities. In 1985, Brown's Hotel, the Pines Hotel, and Kutsher's (which were still run by first, second, and third generation family members) made an attempt at a renaissance.

Because of societal changes that affected all Borscht Belt hotels, Sullivan County's heyday had passed and Brown's Hotel would struggle to stay afloat. At that point Lillian Brown, who owned 100% of the company, began gifting small shares of stock to her grandson Bruce. That summer, Bob Hope was paid $50,000 to make his sole appearance at a Catskills venue. įor almost 20 years, Brown's Hotel was host to the annual Louis Tannen's Magic Jubilee.
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The movie ultimately premiered in Atlantic City on July 15, 1954. An ensuing argument, among other factors, caused America's most popular comedy duo to end their decade-long partnership. In the summer of 1954, Jerry Lewis arranged for Brown's Hotel to host the world premiere of his Hollywood film Living It Up without telling co-star Dean Martin. As with modern-day cruise lines, tourists were enticed by unlimited food and entertainment at these establishments and Brown's Hotel lured their guests with the slogan “There’s More of Everything” and “A bit of California at your doorstep." The hotel would open in April each year and close in early November for the season. It was a luxurious establishment known for being family-friendly. ĭuring the 1950s and 1960s, the resort became one of the Catskills’ signature hotels, among the three most popular in the area along with By the 1950s, the mobsters had shifted their focus to Las Vegas and Cuba. During the 1940s the bodies of their numerous victims would turn up in Loch Sheldrake, a lake less than two miles east of the hotel. Not only did the area attract families and celebrities, but Italian and Jewish gangsters as well. The hotel also welcomed its share of celebrity guests such as Hollywood starlet Jayne Mansfield and boxer Jack Dempsey. Jackie Mason, Woody Allen, and George Burns and musicians Sammy Davis, Jr., Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, and Liberace. The hotel's Brown Derby night club would book big names like comedians Bob Hope, Buddy Hackett. Without the advantage of having a golf course, the owners concentrated their capital on the finest food and big names in entertainment to entice tourists. The resort became known for the wealthy patrons it attracted, competing against the larger establishments in the area. After making an additional $100,000 in renovations, the 473-room hotel opened as Charles and Lillian Brown's Hotel and Country Club with the phone number Hurleyville 150. The Appels had built the hotel in the early 1920s. In 1944 in the hamlet of Loch Sheldrake, New York within the Town of Fallsburg, Charles Brown, owner of several hotels, purchased the Black Appel Inn from the Appel family for US $70,000. The area became known as the Borscht Belt or the Jewish Alps. By the 1940s, Sullivan County, New York became a popular resort area in the Catskill Mountains north of New York City frequented primarily by middle and upper-class Jewish families living in the Northeast.
