Catskills’ Wellington Hotel Named To National Most Endangered Places List

Built in 1882, The Wellington Hotel (first known as The Ulster House Hotel) is one of few surviving examples of the large-scale wood-frame resorts built in the Catskills region of New York in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Hotels like the Wellington were significant to the development of tourism as a major resort industry in the Catskills. At one time, the Wellington was one of fourteen hotels in the hamlet of Pine Hill, in the town of Shandaken in Ulster County.
Now it languishes and has been added to National Trust for Historic Preservation’s annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.
Today, Pine Hill still relies on tourism as its economic driver, but the Wellington’s condition has undermined its ability to serve visitors or the community. It has been deteriorating for years, and the foundation is in danger of collapse.
Temporary stabilization measures are not projected to last more than a few years. Saving the Wellington will require foundation replacement, flood mitigation measures, and a fire suppression system, as well as major rehabilitation of the interior and exterior. Full restoration costs are estimated at around $7 million — an amount hard to reach for a small community of 339 people.
In 2022, the Wellington went up for sale. Twenty community members concerned about the building’s future banded together to raise funds to purchase the hotel, clean up the property, and begin investigating feasible reuses.
A community-based multimember LLC now called Wellington Blueberry is pursuing plans to rehabilitate the Wellington using Federal and State Historic Tax Credits.
Based upon community needs, the Wellington will house a grocery store and café, with 10 workforce apartments.
The project is supported by the town, county, Restore NY, and nonprofit housing developer RUPCO, Inc. However, the coalition requires significant additional funding towards the $7 million needed to not only save an important historic property but also activate the Wellington Hotel to serve its community while providing a model for other projects in rural areas.
Due to the efforts of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and its supporters, the annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places has galvanized public support behind more than 350 sites to date with only a handful lost.
The 11 Most Endangered program uplifts and catalyzes community-led preservation work through a public awareness campaign resulting in increased visibility, public attention, and new resources to save and activate historic places for the public good.
You can view this year’s complete list here.
Read more about historic preservation in New York State.
Photo of the The Wellington courtesy Shelly Smith.
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