Mark Schaefer
New member
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2003
- Messages
- 1,301
- Reaction score
- 172
This Catskill history thread is spin off the Short Catskill hike suggestion thread. To avoid going off topic in that thread and to keep this information more visible I am opening this new thread.
It was not a mere opera lover, but the opera diva herself who lived along the road. Because of the proximity to New York City the Catskills were once the summer retreat of the rich and famous. Many resorts operated in the area, including the "Grand Hotel" (1881 through 1966) on the other side of the current route NY-28 from Belleayre Mountain.
Amelita Galli-Curci began to spend summers in the nearby village of Fleishmann in 1913. In 1928 she and her second husband (her American accompanist) purchased and expanded a 188 acre Scottish Manor styled estate named "Sul Monte" (on the mount) in Highmount. The estate was along the Delaware/Ulster County line and along the current Galli-Curci Road at about 2500' elevation (reference 1926 interview of the singer published in the Dearborn Independent Magazine, written by Clarence W. Barron, then owner of the Wall Street Journal.
The diva sold the estate in 1937 after repeatedly being annoyed by summer tourists and opera groupies who would crash into her estate to listen to the singer rehearsing. Another humorous report indicated that her singing once distracted some highway workers during their highway construction work.
The singer had been quite popular with the local citizenry as she employed many locals to build and operate her estate. She was known for her local philanthropic works. The Galli-Curci Theatre in nearby Margaretville, built in 1922, was named in her honor (as Tom Rankin posted in the Catskill Hike thread). A post in the reader comments section of the referenced theatre blog by a modern day theater groupie mentions that he had crashed into the Sul Monte estate and "managed to explore a bit" before being "politely but firmly asked to leave". Some things never change.
Based on my recollections of driving Galli-Curci Road and the above info, I believe the estate's main house is at or near the center cross of this topo map. The estate property also appears to be included within the property of the controversial, proposed Belleayre Resort. And if I am correct, it also appears that the estate manor house may be preserved in the resort, per this map of the proposed resort. Perhaps the "Sul Monte" estate and its environs will once again become the resort retreat of the rich and famous. It is also claimed that the resort will employ many local citizens. But there is also considerable local opposition to the resort's scale and environmental impact.
If anyone wants more information on the Belleayre Resort it can be found at:
The proposed resort's website: http://www.belleayreresort.com/
The local opposition website: http://www.savethemountain.net/
This caught my eye in return as I did not know the origin of the road's name. A few fast google searches filled in some details.
It was not a mere opera lover, but the opera diva herself who lived along the road. Because of the proximity to New York City the Catskills were once the summer retreat of the rich and famous. Many resorts operated in the area, including the "Grand Hotel" (1881 through 1966) on the other side of the current route NY-28 from Belleayre Mountain.
Amelita Galli-Curci began to spend summers in the nearby village of Fleishmann in 1913. In 1928 she and her second husband (her American accompanist) purchased and expanded a 188 acre Scottish Manor styled estate named "Sul Monte" (on the mount) in Highmount. The estate was along the Delaware/Ulster County line and along the current Galli-Curci Road at about 2500' elevation (reference 1926 interview of the singer published in the Dearborn Independent Magazine, written by Clarence W. Barron, then owner of the Wall Street Journal.
The diva sold the estate in 1937 after repeatedly being annoyed by summer tourists and opera groupies who would crash into her estate to listen to the singer rehearsing. Another humorous report indicated that her singing once distracted some highway workers during their highway construction work.
The singer had been quite popular with the local citizenry as she employed many locals to build and operate her estate. She was known for her local philanthropic works. The Galli-Curci Theatre in nearby Margaretville, built in 1922, was named in her honor (as Tom Rankin posted in the Catskill Hike thread). A post in the reader comments section of the referenced theatre blog by a modern day theater groupie mentions that he had crashed into the Sul Monte estate and "managed to explore a bit" before being "politely but firmly asked to leave". Some things never change.
Based on my recollections of driving Galli-Curci Road and the above info, I believe the estate's main house is at or near the center cross of this topo map. The estate property also appears to be included within the property of the controversial, proposed Belleayre Resort. And if I am correct, it also appears that the estate manor house may be preserved in the resort, per this map of the proposed resort. Perhaps the "Sul Monte" estate and its environs will once again become the resort retreat of the rich and famous. It is also claimed that the resort will employ many local citizens. But there is also considerable local opposition to the resort's scale and environmental impact.
If anyone wants more information on the Belleayre Resort it can be found at:
The proposed resort's website: http://www.belleayreresort.com/
The local opposition website: http://www.savethemountain.net/
