History at Bluff Point
1910 - 1951
Site of Clinton Community College
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History at Bluff Point
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On July 11, 1911, the present building of concrete and stone welcomed eager guests back to their Adirondack retreat.
 The Hotel Champlain, circa 1930 Click in Picture to see more Detail |
Though of rugged fireproof construction and considerably smaller than the original facility, the new Hotel Champlain boasted the same ambiance as its predecessor. Inside, period furniture combined to provide comfort and beauty. Outside, sculptured gardens and flowers decorated the grounds with a disciplined loveliness. |
For 40 years the new Hotel Champlain flourished as one of America's most prestigious and fabled vacation sites. The Hotel's legends of romance and adventure abound from the lighthearted turn-of-the century era, through the frantic, high-stepping "Roaring Twenties" and to the intense experience of World War 1. Prohibition in the United States made the environs of the Canadian border attractive to New Yorkers who liked their cocktails on leisurely vacation evenings. It was rumored that the Hotel was one of the few places where guests could enjoy real beefsteak during the rigid rationing days of World War II.
The grounds surrounding Hotel Champlain provided the physical environment for parts of the 1924 Cosmopolitan Films movie entitled "Janice Meredith" Famed silent screen actors George Nash, Harrison Ford, Halbrook Blinn and Marion Davies starred in the elaborate costume drama depicting events from the Revolutionary War. Guests at the Hotel at the time were able to watch the costumed cast and film crews at work, thus adding to the Hotel's attraction.
The stock market crash of 1929, so devastating to the nation's economy generally, marked the beginning of Hotel Champlain's end. While the Hotel continued to offer luxury accommodations for a number of years after the crash, the long-term effects of the Depression, World II, and changing American vacation habits left the hotel's owners in debt.
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At Clinton Community College: Send feedback to Roland Schmidt at schmidr@mail.clintoncc.suny.edu |
Copyright ©: 1997 Clinton Community
College
Last modified: 13 Nov 1997
