My Story About the Lake Placid - Marcy
I started working at the Northwoods Inn on April 24th, 2010. My business, La Selva Real Estate (LSRE), was having a difficult time pulling through the recession that we were in and I knew I needed to do something to bring in some steady money. I turned to my old friend, the hospitality business. I opened LSRE in April, 2007. Although I had done well, 2010 was not a good year for me and I just did not have the resources to get to 2011.
Initially, I thought the steady money from the Northwoods Inn would not only help me personally, but help see my business through difficult times. I was at a personal low. I could not afford my vehicles and had to sell them, I was not able to eat regularly, my divorce had just been finalized, I could barely afford my rent and, on top of all that, my mother's cancer had once again turned for the worse. Sadly, she lost her long battle with breast cancer on October 13th, 2011. This hotel, and the Smith's, helped me get through this time. I did not talk much about it, so they never knew how down I was, but I owe a huge debt of gratitude to them and the hotel itself. This is one reason I am so loyal to the hotel and the Smith's, Gary in particular. By the end of 2010, I realized that working at the hotel was not going to be enough to sustain me and LSRE, so I decided to merge with Select Sotheby's on Main Street (now I'm with Weichert, Realtors Venture North Associates). Part of the decision to go Select Sotheby's was the fact that I didn't have a car. Living on Highland Place, directly behind the hotel, I could walk to both places I was working at. Make no mistake, 2010 and 2011 were the worst years of my life. One of the reasons I love the hospitality business is that it provides the opportunity to step out of my life and into the lives of my guests, even though it's only for 8 hours at a time. I can forget about what's going on with me and focus on providing my guests the best possible experience I can. Although my life stops when I walk through the doors, often times theirs does not. We deal with just about everything in their lives and, sometimes the difference between hospitality and hospital is a fine line.
People do not realize that when they pull into our parking lot and come up to the Front Desk to check in, they have now become a part of my extended family. It is my responsibility to ensure that they are safe and enjoy their stay. I take that responsibility very seriously! It is not uncommon for for to come out to the lobby and sit down with people to chat. We talk about their lives, my life and the history of this "old girl" known as the Nothwoods Inn. It is intertwined with the history of Lake Placid, my adoptive home since November of 1995. I enjoy talking to the down trodden the most. We put up some people coming through the hotel who are transient and in need of a roof and bed for the night, especially during the winter months. We have a great partnership with Ecumenical Charities. They are affiliated with St. Agness Church. People who can not survive another night in the elements, or family situations, go there. They call us and we provide a roof and a bed. A safe haven from whatever they're going through. It's one way we can give back to a community that has given us so much over the past 86 years.
So, having made the decision to re-enter the hospitality business after an 8 year absence, I recalled that the Smith's had purchased the Northwoods Inn in 2005. I knew Kathy Smith, Gary's wife, from my old Lake & Mountain Properties days. They own a camp on Placid Lake known as Camp Bearberry, which we had rented on occasion. I called Kathy who told me to call Gary. I did and he set me up with an interview with then General Manager, Kerry Claus. I met with Kerry around April 10th, 2010. I thought the interview went well, but I had not heard from him; so I called and left him a message on April 15th urging him to call my references. I finally got a call back from him around April 20th to come in for a second interview. In the mean time, I heard from some of my hotel friends that Pam, then Front Office Manager, really did not want to hire me. Because of my past hotel experience, she felt threatened by my presence, perhaps rightfully so. Honestly, she was a mess. No offence intended, but a living definition of the Peter Principal. Remember though, when I fist started there I had no aspirations of taking over or going full time. I was only looking for two or three nights a week. Anyway, Kerry, as it turns out, was on vacation. That was the reason for the delay in getting back to me. The bottom line is they needed me as much as I needed them. Honestly, I was a little hesitant myself. The Northwoods Inn did not have the best reputation. I knew this even from way back in my Hilton days.
Either way, Kerry said if I want the job, I have it. I decided to join the "team" and landed behind the front desk on April 24th, 2010. A couple months later I asked Kerry if he'd called my references. He said he had not. He said his criteria for hiring me was the fact that I was breathing. I think my response was, admittedly cocky, "I hope you realize you have somebody far more than breathing..." I could see right away that the Northwoods Inn was not a team. It was fractured. dysfunctional and broken. Thankfully, that is not the case today. It was slow when I started and I had a lot of time on my hands, so I started diving into the history of the hotel - and what a history it has!
One night, while in the men's restroom, I felt a presence, I had just been reading about the tragic fire that destroyed the south wing of the hotel in December of 1966 and the five lives, all hotel employees, that it took. I began speaking to whatever I thought was in the room with me. I could feel a bit of sorrow. A want to see the Northwoods Inn return to its glory days. Through my reading, I began to feel a connection with the "spirits" that I felt around me. It lead me to make a deal with them. I said to them that I had "this old girl" and would do everything I could to help bring her back. I meant it then and I mean it now! Let's dive into some of the history of the Lake Placid-Marcy / Northwoods Inn. I will do this with the help of former town Historian Mary McKenzie from articles she has written over the years...
History
"Northwoods
Inn (built, 1880; expanded, 1897; burned, 1966) Lake Placid–Marcy
(1927) The hotel now called the Northwoods Inn was originally the
Lake Placid–Marcy, the village’s first “fireproof” (i.e.,
brick) hotel. It was built in 1927 adjacent to and north of an
existing, smaller frame hotel, the original Northwoods Inn, the core
of which dated to the 1880s but which was expanded and opened as a
hotel in 1897. After the Marcy opened, the older building was no
longer referred to as the Northwoods Inn, only as “the south wing
of the Marcy,” thus leaving use of the Northwoods name open in the
1930s for a newly christened hotel at 159 Main St., next to the
Adirondack Community Church. Later, when the “new” Northwoods inn
was demolished so that Favor Smith could have the small building
currently standing at 159 Main built, the “Northwoods Inn”
moniker was once again considered available for re-use. At some point
after contractor Gregory Ruppert and corporate lawyer Barry C.
Maloney bought the Marcy, in the fall of 1986, they renamed it the
Northwoods Inn. The original 1897 Northwoods Inn was first the
private home of Charles Wesley Kennedy, built in 1880. (Kennedy also
bought the Lamoy house later, to the north.) In 1897, the original
Kennedy house was substantially expanded to facilitate its rebirth as
a hotel. The Marcy, built in 1927, used the Northwoods Inn for
overflow and staff housing until December 1966, when the Northwoods
Inn building burned to the ground. An addition to the Marcy was built
on the footprint of the old Northwoods Inn. The neoclassical brick
Marcy/Northwoods is the largest historical building on Main Street,
but its architectural values have been greatly obscured by major and
insensitive additions. The original structure, however, survives
under the additions. This structure was (or is) a simple but
impressive neoclassical block. In its current condition, the building
has as much of a negative influence as positive on the character of
Main Street. Its appropriate role as a major landmark, as well as its
architectural character, is compromised by the additions and the
recent painting of the brick façade. The original second-floor
windows remain. The upper four floors of this six-story building,
however, once set back, have been added on to so that the entire
façade is even with the sidewalk" Mary McKenzie for the History of Main Street
Lake Placid, NY Hotel Marcy Fire, Dec 1966
Posted June 9th, 2009 by Stu Beitler
FIVE PRESUMED DEAD IN BLAZE AT LAKE PLACID'S MARCY HOTEL.
Special to The Post-Standard.
Lake Placid -- A search of ice-sheathed debris will begin Thursday in an effort to recover the bodies of five men missing and presumed dead after a fire Wednesday which destroyed a wing of Hotel Marcy.
The missing men, all employes of the famed resort hotel, were identified by Police Chief Charles Prasse as:
MILTON ANINGER, about 50, of Lake Placid.
CLYDE HOISINGTON, 50, of Lake Placid.
MICHAEL GOTHWIN, 19, of the Bronx.
JAMES GRAY, 62, Montreal, Canada.
MICHAEL GUDZ, 67, Montreal, Canada.
The body of one of the men hung over a portion of the smoldering ruins Wednesday. Recovery efforts were futile and he remained unidentified.
Attempts to extricate the body and a search for the others was halted by mid-evening Wednesday
because a police department spokesman said
"the area is frozen over and too treacherous."
He explained that water used to battle the fire had frozen. In addition, he said, "so much debris cluttered the area that it was dangerous for volunteers to walk around in."
The fire which broke out early Wednesday and caused an estimated $500,000 damage, destroyed an entire three-story wing attached to the six-story main structure.
The wing contained a kitchen, dining room, swimming pool, sauna baths, employees' quarters and some guest units.
Cause of the blaze which was discovered about 3 a.m. was unknown, police said.
Five persons, including owner JACK DAVIS, 52, were injured.
DAVIS, who operates the Gotham Hotel in New York City, collapsed while helping police and other employes alert the guests. He was reported
in fair condition at Placid Memorial Hospital.
The hospital identified the injured, in addition to DAVIS, as:
HENRY JULICHER, 19, of Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
WITOLD SOCHAJ, 62, of New York City.
RUDOLPH BURRY, about 60, of Hoboken, N.J.
MISS LISA KOEBRICK, 19, of Plattsburgh.
BURRY was being treated for burns on his hands.
The others were hospitalized because of smoke inhalation.
All 475 guests of the hotel, at Lake Placid for the holiday week, escaped unharmed with little or no loss of personal belongings. During Wednesday afternoon, guests of the hotel could be seen loading their cars with luggage on the ice covered main street or preparing to take buses elsewhere.
Smoke and water damage was heavy.
The Lake Placid fire department was called to the hotel at 3:15 and quickly placed calls to the Wilmington and Saranac Lake fire departments for assistance. The temperature hit an overnight low of -11 degrees and restaurants sent coffee and food to the firefighters.
Firemen said that the fire was under control at about 7 o'clock, but in late afternoon two streams of water were being played into the mass of blackened wood, metal and tangled mass of kitchen and dining room utensils, smashed bedsteads and other equipment.
Water was pumped to the fire scene from frozen Mirror Lake across Main Street from the hotel. A portion of the main building was damaged by fire, but a thick wall between the three-story unit and the six story main building saved the main hotel from destruction.
The fire knocked out telephone lines along Main Street when fire burned through the cable, and telephone workers were busy all day repairing the damage.
The three-story building was the former Northwoods Hotel and about 70 years old. It had recently been renovated by DAVIS in 1961 when the swimming pool was installed.
The Post-Standard Syracuse New York 1966-12-29
Built in 1927 by New York Hotelier Frank Swift, the Lake Placid-Marcy, affectionately known as The Marcy, was named after New York's tallest peak Mount Marcy. Fitting, as it is the tallest building on Main Street. It has seen many changes over the years. In the 1960's then owner Jack Davis added on to the front and back of the hotel, doubling the size of our rooms. Though necessary, it took a lot of the original, beautiful architecture of the building away. It was built as a luxury hotel with all the modern amenities one would find in a New York City hotel. It was advertised as having "private bathrooms" and fireproof, a big deal in 1927. We've had many prominent guests over the years, including Kate Smith and Sammy Davis, Jr. When Noah John Rondeau came out of the woods, he often stayed at the Marcy. It was a treat as he sat by the grand fireplace telling travelers stories of his hermit life. The hotel was alive and the go to place in Lake Placid. It's location made it that way, and the location is still one of its attributes to this day.
The ground in the back of the hotel used to go up to the third floor. As you can see from the above photo, there was a beautiful outdoor pool where people could hang out and enjoy the sun. This was removed sometime after Barry Maloney and Greg Ruppert purchased the hotel. Although tough to see it go, it made way for the much needed parking we have today.
In 1977, the land that was our beach on Mirror Lake, originally known as Bennett's Pond after one of North Elba's founding fathers Elijah Bennett, was sold to Winnie Holderied. He owned the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort. The property is now the Alpine Mall. We also owned what is now the Mountain View Inn. It was known as the Hotel Marcy's Thunderbird Motel. We also owned the land and cottages behind the hotel.
There is a lot more I can say about the Marcy, but I would like to task you to do some of your own research. It is an amazing path, one you'll surly enjoy. I can tell you this, I am proud to be a part of the history of the Marcy / Northwoods Inn and as much as it is a hotel, it's an institution. This property helped develop Lake Placid into the world class resort town it is today! I follow a long line of great staff and Managers who have worked here over the years. It is more than the hotel where I work. It is my house and the people I work with there are my brothers and sisters. As it stands, the hotel is in need of some renovations. It is not the modern hotel of today. Our pools are gone, the beach is gone, the original architecture is gone, the beautiful Victorian style staircase and brass chandeliers are gone, the ball room is no longer, but underneath it all is the Hotel Marcy! For me, it's almost like playing for the New York Yankees. It's a privilege to be a part of such a storied, historical property. Although the newer hotels have some amenities we no longer have, they do not have the history we do! And, you know, Lake Placid needs that. We have been through both Olympics. As many of the old structures were torn down or destroyed by fire, such as the Homestead, the Lake Placid Club, the Grand View Hotel, the Stevens House, the Whiteface Inn, the original Mirror Lake Inn and the Lake Placid Lodge, we survived. It pains me to see some of the reviews and hear some of the comments people make about the Northwoods Inn. A lot of people come to her because of the rate. They do not realize that we don't have some of the amenities they've come to expect and that it is an old hotel in need of some renovations. But what they get is a clean, comfortable room with a great location, two fantastic restaurants and a staff that will go the extra mile to ensure they have the best stay possible. We are striving to renovate and it will happen. In the mean time, people get a nice room, many with lake and mountain views with again, a location that can't be beat. Our restaurant, Delta Blue, is quickly becoming a must go to place while in Lake Placid. We have Open Mic Blues Night every Wednesday form 8:30pm to 10:30pm and live bands, great bands, Friday and Saturday nights. Delta Blue features southern style barbecue food and has patio seating during the warmer months. We offer some fantastic cocktails and many different beers, many from micro breweries both, locally and from the south. The Cabin Grille offers arguably the best breakfast in the area. Our rooftop is amazing! From there, one can see all of the Olympic Venues and the views are unbelievable! Sun rises and sun sets are amazing. We hold functions up there, such as weddings and host the radio station annually for the Fourth of July Fireworks display. Other times, our guests are welcome to go up to the roof to enjoy the views and hang out at the tables and chairs we provide.
Gary Smith has gone to great lengths to once again make the Northwoods Inn a vital part of our community by working with the Convention Center, John Brown Lives!, working with and developing groups such as Wood Carvers (open to the public) and hosting photography workshops. I am proud and pleased to say that the Marcy is alive and well today. I remember when Gary's son and part owner, Garrick Smith came back to the hotel in 2011 to serve as our General Manager. He told me that they were trying to find our identity and asked me what I think it is. My answer is we are the Hotel Marcy! When Maloney and Ruppert put the log siding on the front and changed the stair case railings and put antler chandeliers and murals on the walls and adopted the name The Northwoods Inn, though with good intentions, they stripped our true identity. The Marcy was a classy hotel with brass chandeliers, a grand staircase and marble like floors, fit for Kings and Queens. That is what we are. That is what's underneath the Northwoods Inn. It works the way it is, but the struggle for our identity is visible. Though I don't think it will happen, I'd like to see us go back towards the era when the hotel was the best, most classy hotel in the Adirondacks. One would not take the Waldorf Astoria in NYC and do what Barry Maloney did to the Marcy. It would be a travesty!
Having said that, I understand their thought process and the Northwoods Inn is still a special place. I truly believe the Smith's will take it where it needs to go, either as the Northwoods Inn or the Marcy. I invite you to come stay with us and feel the history of this hotel. And, while there, we will help you have the best stay possible and discover, or re-discover, one of the most beautiful, majestic destinations on the planet known as the Adirondacks, 6.5 million acres of wilderness offering hiking, biking, skiing, boating, museums and great restaurants. We offer relaxation. A true break from the hustle and bustle of every day life. And being in the hospitality business, we always remember to be hospitable.
John V La Selva, September 2013
