Fire At Storied Grossinger's Resort Under Investigation

LIBERTY, NY — A massive fire Tuesday evening at what once was one of the most famous resorts in the world is under investigation.

At 7:10 PM Tuesday evening the Liberty Fire Department was dispatched to an unknown fire, and learned en route that it was a large building burning at the old Grossinger's resort.

"A smoke column was now visible for several miles," Chief Mark Johnstone said on Facebook.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the New York State Police and Sullivan County Bureau of Fire, he said.

The blaze was difficult to get to. The first to arrive had to cut through a gate and get past overgrowth and concrete barriers. Firefighters had to lay hose more than 1,000 feet up a hill from where water tankers could be positioned. Several nearby departments were requested to assist with firefighters and apparatus.

Grossinger's was one of the Catskill resorts immortalized in Moss Hart's "Act One" and the movie "Dirty Dancing."

In its heyday after Second World War, Grossinger's drew hundreds of thousands of vacationers a year, many of them Jewish, the Associated Press reported. The resort had a 27-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor pools, a nightclub, two kosher kitchens and a 1,500-seat dining room.

It closed in 1986.

The fire was not in the main building, which had been torn down several years ago.

"Liberty and mutual aid departments operated on scene for approximately 6 hours," Johnstone said. "Assisting Mutual Aid Depts on scene were White Sulphur Springs, Loch Sheldrake, Swan Lake, Livingston Manor, Hurleyville, Neversink, Kauneonga Lake and Woodridge. Monticello FD stood by at Liberty covering calls for Liberty and WSS and responded to 2 other calls. EMS standby was provided by Mobile Medic Ambulance."

At the request of Town of Liberty Code Enforcement officials, an excavator was brought to knock down the skeleton of the building once the fire was out.