Whether it be the Hudson Highlands, vibrant riverfront downtowns, or the Catskill Mountains, the Hudson Valley holds diverse attractions for eager tourists. Perhaps one of the most popular of these attractions is the Woodbury Common Outlet Mall, though the Town of Woodbury boasts a tourist and resort history extending more than a century prior. In the late nineteenth century, the most elaborate hotels in Woodbury boasted electric lighting, telephone service, on-site golf courses, and even guided tours of the region. These flourished decades before the rise of the Borscht Belt resort craze while their amenities were on par with Victorian-era mountain houses of the Catskills. Appealing to populations of wider economic strata in society, smaller boarding houses offered intimate experiences where guests engaged in family chores for the duration of summer seasons—a practice that has become less and less common today. By the 1920s, Woodbury entered a new phase of resort tourism when summer bungalow colonies rose to prominence. A tightly-knit community of these colonies hosted a variety of famed individuals during the twentieth-century, including Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman, film director Sidney Lumet, and choreographer Jerome Robbins. There’s even evidence suggesting that “the Nanny” (Fran Drescher) once spent her summer at a summer colony in Woodbury.
On Sunday, October 26th at 1:00 PM, join the Woodbury Public Library for a new program covering Woodbury’s rich legacy of resort tourism. Combining documented evidence, photographs, and interviews from those who lived through this age, town of Woodbury historian and president of the Woodbury Historical Society Alex Prizgintas brings the legacy of Woodbury’s summer bungalow colonies back to life. A graduate of Marist University with degrees in Hudson River Valley History and Public Administration, Alex has been published in the Hudson River Valley Review, New York Archives Magazine, and Orange County Historical Society Journal on topics including Hudson River railroad history, Orange County’s dairy farming history, and the region’s early settlers. For more information, please visit alexprizgintas.com
