Mohonk Lake Mountain House, 1893 Season

New Paltz, NY, 1893. General wear and toning. Minor tear to edge of one interior page.. The Mohonk Lake Mountain House, now known as Mohonk Mountain House, was founded by twin brothers Albert K. and Alfred H. Smiley in 1869 after the pair fell in love with the picturesqueness beautiful landscape. It became, and still is, one of the premium American resort hotels. The hotel is nestled within the Shawangunk Mountains on the shores of Lake Mohonk and currently encompasses 1,325 acres of land, much of which is landscaped with meadows and gardens. However, the hotel grounds were original much large, but the majority of the original land of the resort, over 8,000 acres, was given to the Mohonk Preserve, a natural preserve that now abuts the hotel and provides guest access to hiking trails. Due to its popularity the resort was expanded several times over the years and currently has 259 guest rooms, including 28 tower rooms, indoor pool, spa, and an winter outdoor skating rink. Both the nature preserve and hotel together were designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986. This item is the advertising brochure for the resort's 1893 season which ran from May 27 to "about" October 17. The brochure starts off with a brief description of Mohonk Lank, and how to get to the resort, followed by information on rates, and some of its features, like reading rooms, livery stable, and onsite telegraph and post office. The is a short description of the 11th annual Mohonk Indian Conference which would be held there that year. (The hotel would later become known for hosting the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration between 1895 and 1916.) The brochure then chronicles the improvements made to the hotel, such as a new dining room, kitchen, Otis hydraulic elevator, new water system, and new laundry equipment. A page is spent sketching the scenery surrounding the resort which is a "remarkable combination and great variety of imposing lake and mountain views, it has no superior, if, indeed, any rival, on the Atlantic seaboard." Next are several pages of references from past guests from New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Boston. The last six pages are excerpts from numerous newspaper articles written about the resort upon its opening in 1869. The booklet contains thirteen (13) black and white illustrations of the resort and the surrounding landscape. Two of these are full page illustrations located on the covers. Additionally there is a large map which depicts the Shawangunk Mountains, the resort, and the railroads leading to it. Printer: J. J. Little & Co., Astor Place, NY. 15 pgs. Illustrated covers. Staple binding. OCLC 19 (Aug. 2020). Measures 11" x 7 1/2