Today the Borscht Belt is recalled through the nostalgic lens of summer swims, Saturday night dances, and comedy performances. But its current state, like that of many other formerly glorious regions, is nothing like its earlier status. Forgotten about and exhausted, much of its structural environment has been left to decay.
The new book, The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland, presents Marisa Scheinfeld's photographs of abandoned sites where resorts, hotels, and bungalow colonies once boomed in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York.
The Borscht Belt presents a contemporary view of more than forty hotel and bungalow sites. From entire expanses of abandoned properties to small lots containing drained swimming pools, the remains of the Borscht Belt era now lie forgotten, overgrown, and vacant.
Scheinfeld has two book events in Albany this week -- one at the Colonie Library tonight sponsored by SUNY Albany Judaic Studies and another on Friday evening as part of a special presentation for the NYS History Conference at the NYS museum from 6:30 – 8:30 PM.
