SHARON SPRINGS – The Sharon Historical Society invites the public to attend “The Pavilion Hotel: Sharon Springs’ Lost Landmark,” presented by Historian Sandra Manko on Monday, August 10, at 7 PM. The program will be offered in person in the Community Room of the Sharon Public Library, 129 Main Street, Sharon Springs, and online via Zoom.
For more than a century, the Pavilion Hotel stood high above Sharon Springs as the village’s grandest and most famous landmark. Built during the 1830s as interest in the community’s mineral springs was rapidly growing, the massive Greek Revival resort became the centerpiece of Sharon Springs’ celebrated spa era. With its commanding columns, 200-foot porch, elegant parlors, expansive dining room, landscaped grounds, cottages, riding stables, and accommodations for as many as 600 guests, the Pavilion helped transform the small village into an internationally known health and vacation destination.
Through historic photographs, postcards, advertisements, menus, and firsthand descriptions, Manko will recreate daily life at the Pavilion during its golden age. Attendees will discover how visitors came to Sharon Springs to “take the cure,” enjoy the mineral baths, and participate in a remarkable variety of leisure activities, including concerts, dancing, tennis, golf, horseback riding, bowling, billiards, carriage rides, and motion pictures. The presentation will also explore the Pavilion Cottages, which offered affluent families privacy and comfort while allowing them to take part in the resort’s active social life.
The Pavilion attracted prominent guests from across the United States and abroad. Its guest register included presidents, generals, authors, industrialists, and members of some of the nation’s best-known families. Among those associated with the hotel were Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Martin Van Buren, John Quincy Adams, William T. Sherman, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Oscar Wilde, James Fenimore Cooper, and Charles Dickens. Their visits reflected a period when Sharon Springs ranked among America’s most fashionable spa destinations.
Manko said, “The Pavilion was more than a hotel. It was the landmark that defined Sharon Springs during its great resort era. This program gives us a chance to revisit the people, architecture, and stories that made it such an unforgettable part of our community.”
The program will also examine the Pavilion’s decline as medical practices and vacation habits changed, as well as the debated circumstances surrounding its demolition in 1940 and 1941. Was the landmark removed because it had become too costly to modernize, or did personal and political motives influence its fate? Attendees will be invited to consider the evidence and decide for themselves.
This program will be presented both in person in the Community Room of the Sharon Public Library, 129 Main Street, Sharon Springs, and via Zoom. Those unable to attend live may register to receive a link to the recorded program when it becomes available.
The Sharon Historical Society’s Lecture Series continues its tradition of twice-monthly programs, typically held on the second and fourth Mondays at 7 PM. All programs are offered via Zoom, with select presentations also available in person.
This program is free for Sharon Historical Society members as part of their membership benefits. Non-members are encouraged to make a donation to support the lecture series and may also choose to join the Society during registration.
For more information or to register, visit: www.sharonhistoricalsocietyny.org/upcoming-talks-and-programs or call (518) 860-5513.
