Nightlife in the Borscht Belt

Once the premier vacation destination in the country, The Borscht Belt was a vibrant era in which over 500 hotels and 50,000 bungalow colonies harmoniously existed in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Boasting illustrious and idyllic architecture and forever changing the prospect of American comedy, Borscht Belt resorts hosted entertainers including Buddy Hackett, Tony Bennett, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Rivers, and Barbra Streisand. Today, the landscape has changed—a rapid decline in tourism led to the shuttering of every leisurely establishment the region had to offer. Former resorts turned into summer camps, religious schools, and meditation centers, while some remain vacant, awaiting bulldozers. This talk will feature a plethora of images that illustrate the Borscht Belt’s rise, golden era, and fall. You’ll discover how the golden era of the region serves as inspiration for Jeffreys’ images, as well as a sentimental look into his carefully-lit images of ballrooms, nightclubs, and casinos that remain, teaming with life through their stagnancy at night. Rare views into former hotels that haven’t been documented in over half a century will be shown and discussed before a Q&A.