In 1889 year old Harris Levinson migrated from Russia with his mother Tillie, his father Louis and his two sisters Sarah and Rebecca (Betty).  Although he had a very humble start Harris went on to be one of the preeminent hotel owners in the Catskills and Jersey Shore of his time.
In Russia his family were farmers.  They came to the USA in hopes of freedom and  opportunity. They settled in lower Manhattan in New York in a tenament where the vast majority of Russian Jews from that era lived. By this time his family consisted of 10 siblings.
By the early 1900s Harris was already working in a nearby Hotel. By 1915 Harris and his family owned the Pinewood hotel in Lakewood New Jersey. He later went on to buy the Takanassee Hotel in Long Branch New Jersey. He owned and managed an assortment of hotels in New Jersey including the Carasaljo and Claredin in Lakewood, NJ and the Esplanade in Atlantic City. His first Catskill hotel was the Fairmont in Tannersville, NY.
In 1921 Harris purchased 400 acres in Fleischmanns New York and later that year broke ground to build one of the most prestigious and luxurious hotel of it’s day – the ‘new’ Takanassee Hotel. The new Takanassee Hotel in Fleischmanns New York opened its doors on July 4, 1922.
Today, there’s not much left. The swimming pool which was touted in its day as being the largest in the world now looks like an overgrown Lake. Most of the 400 acres is now developed into Custom Homes. There are small Remnants still left of the old Takanassee Hotel like the white pillars on either side of the driveway and turning onto the property the big boulder with just a few letters left of the Takanassee Hotel.
This campaign was started by Harris Levinson’s great-niece Jill Lanese who is a filmmaker. When Jill visited the grounds of the Takanassee Hotel it struck her that there was not even a plaque memorializing the great history and heritage of the 20th century era of Grande hotels in the Catskills.

Fast forward to 2018 and there’s much discussion of a resurgence in the Catskills. Perhaps the Catskills will see a different type of Grand Hotel (i.e.; casinos) in the next phase for the Catskill region.

The history of the early Jewish population in New York and New Jersey and surrounding areas who vacationed in the Catskills should not be lost. It’s such an intrical part of not only the Catskills history but the history of most Jewish families in the Northeast.
So, this campaign is to rebuild the Takanassee. In 1922 the 420 room Hotel pictured here cost $300,000 to build the hotel alone. Harris Levinson purchased the 400 acres for $25,000 from Charles Liebman’s Carishrue residence. Keep in mind this was one of the most luxurious and lavish hotels in the world. With inflation that equates to approximately six million dollars in today’s day and age. We all know that in today’s day and age six million dollars is not going to build a lavash 420 room Hotel.

So, what Jill intends to do is break up the fundraising into several phases. Phase one will attempt to raise $250,000. This money would be used to purchase property in the Catskills and begin the architectural plans. Most likely the hotel will be between 50 and 100 rooms. Nowhere near the size of its namesake but the feel of the glory and the lavishness of the old Catskills Hotel will be retained.

After phase 1 the plan is to continue two to three additional phases of crowdfunding fundraising as well as possibly bringing on traditional investors.
**** Be part of history!!!  Help memorialize the Takanassee Hotel as well as bringing back some of the glory of that era. ******

The Takanassee Hotel as well as other major hotels in the Catskills area were such a major part of the lives of Jewish people in the 20th century. As our generation gets older the memories and the history begin to fade away. If we don’t do something to memorialize that time and era it will be lost forever.

your contributions will help memorialize and capture the era of the twentieth century splendor in  the new Takanassee Hotel. We HOPE you’ll be part of this  citing Resurgence of era of the 20th century hotels.