Last week, the National Trust for Historic Preservation released its 2025 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. That list can be found here. A building not very far from here, across the river in Ulster County, is one of the eleven: The Wellington Hotel in Pine Hill.
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 1880s 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.
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 cafe, with 10 workforce apartments. The project is supported by the Town of Shandaken, Ulster County, Restore NY, and nonprofit housing developer RUPCO, Inc. However, the coalition requires significant additional funding towards the $7 million needed not only to save an important historic property but also to activate the Wellington Hotel to serve its community while providing a model for other projects in rural areas.
For more information about the Wellington and the plans for its rehabilitation, click here.
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