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New book explores lost hotels, bygone architecture of Adirondacks In his richly illustrated work Resort Hotels of the Adirondacks, the University of Delaware professor explores the summer vacation boom between 1850 and 1950 and examines its influence on hotel architecture. Focusing primarily on the large resort hotels of New York states Adirondacks, Tolles, who also serves as the director of UDs Museum Studies Program, unearths a culture of flaunted wealth and unbridled opportunity, and charts how these resorts shaped the landscape and culture of the Adirondack region at the turn of the 20th century. After the Civil War, as the country developed economically, people were able to afford the kind of experiences that the grand resort hotels offered, and they also had the leisure time to do that, Tolles said. During the second half of the 19th century up until the Depression, there was a great deal of emphasis on people going off to the grand hotels and showing off, and transferring their urban social life to more rural settings. According to Tolles, it was this new breed of vacationers, coupled with a flourishing interest in outdoor pursuits, that influenced the programmingand ultimately the physical structureof the grand resort hotels. Typically offering the latest in modern amenities and entertainment options, the prominent resort destinations catered to affluent guests every whim and frequently included their own bookstores, post offices, golf courses and polo fields. They also, as a general rule, boasted lavish parlors and dining rooms, sweeping verandas and staircases, and overnight accommodations for more than 200 guests.
Ive always had a great interest in architecture and architectural history, and these hotels are fascinating buildings, Tolles said. Theres never been a book written about them, and most of them are gone now. Many were hastily built for quick profit and were expected to have limited life spans. Quite a few burnt down. As a result, there has not been much public knowledge as to what was there. The fact that virtually nothing remains makes the subject all that more compelling to meand, I hope, to readers. Researched and written with the help of guidebooks, local histories, newspaper articles, maps, business records, guest correspondence and diary entries, Resort Hotels of the Adirondacks was a four-year project that frequently pulled Tolles to the Adirondack Museum, where much of his research was conducted. While he predicts that the primary audience for the 253-page hardback will be architectural historians, preservationists and those with an interest in the Adirondack region, Tolles said he hopes that his book will appeal to the general reader as well, due to its social and cultural context. When I have done research over the years, I have been conscious of whos going to read my books and what general value theyre going to have, he explained. While I think its fair to say that the audience, for the most part, consists of architectural historians, Ive tried to pitch my books to the general public. To this end, Tolles takes great interest in what he terms the illustration of his writing. In addition, he takes many of his own photographs, thereby giving readers contemporary, accessible images.Tolles is the author of several other books, including one on the grand resort hotels of New Hampshires White Mountains. He currently is co-authoring a book on New Hampshire architecture and is conducting research along the New England coastline for a future solo project. Although not yet certain what form that book will take, he foresees it focusing once again on the relationship of tourism to architecture.
Resort Hotels of the Adirondacks: The Architecture of a Summer Paradise, 1850-1950 was published by the University Press of New England and is available at local and national bookstores and through Amazon.com. A member of the UD faculty since 1984, Tolles earned his B.A. from Yale in l961, his Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Yale in l962 and his Ph.D. from Boston University in l970. His other books include New Hampshire Architecture: An Illustrated Guide (1979), The Grand Resort Hotels of the White Mountains (l998) and Summer Cottages in the White Mountains (2000). The Buildings of New Hampshire, a book that is part of a national resource guide project called The Buildings of the United States Series, is currently in production. A native of Connecticut, Tolles was museum director of the Essex Institute before coming to UD. He lives in Wilmington and Center Sandwich, N.H. Article by Becca Hutchinson To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |