Wood's Lodge Estate Sale

Memorial Day Weekend, May 24-27, 2013

 

Wood's Lodge, the Lake House,

 cabins and other buildings

on Leland Avenue were full of furnishings when I bought it.  The last summer it operated was 2006, a summer that also changed the trajectory of my family's life (details in a future post).  Seven years without use doesn't improve anything; appearance, functionality, and the contents were no exception.  Electric plugs in the Lodge don't work or shorted out in our hands.  The main water valve exploded when turned on.  The Lodge was operated in the summers so the rented rooms didn't need to be insulated.  The buried propane tank was removed before I bought the property so there is no heat to turn on in the Lodge. 

 

One of my goals for the estate sale was to allow people to take pieces of the Lodge home with them.

 

Larry & Coral Pitkin

(my father's parents with my mother, Phyrne, and me in England, where I was born) had two "Miller Chairs." When I was growing up (in the summers) in Schroon, I didn't know or care why they were called that. I guess I assumed that the "Miller Furniture Company" made them. Eventually I found out that when the "Miller's place" had an estate sale, my grandparents bought some chairs. They told me about the Millers, memories of their place and how little they paid for them (always an important part of an Adirondack story). Two Miller's chairs are at my place in Schroon and will move with me over to the Lake House. They need to be reupholstered again and are far from "glam," but their story is uniquely mine and one I preserve through their presence.

 

Another goal was to "recycle" the buildings that have (far) outlasted their useful life expectancy.

 

It's the "green" way, the Adirondack way, and is one of the founding values of the inn-and-restaurant-to-be. Some pieces will be retained and worked into the design of the new facilities. But the hassle factor, time, and expense of taking all the wood and fixtures apart, preparing them for a new use, and planning around where they can be used, adds such complexity that I hoped a local recycling solution would appear. It did.  A stair railing and the wood dining room floor are being removed and incorporated in a Schroon home under renovation. The beautiful leaded glass windows in the dining room are being purchased by an artist who will decorate and sell them. They don't meet modern building codes so I was wondering how I could preserve them without actually using them. A couple starting a new restaurant in Schroon looked at the cabins and decided to take two of them to live in on site while they are building the restaurant. Perfect! Could there be a better use for cabins that have been sitting on (and off) cinder blocks for many years? There are many such brand new stories that will be passed down in families. Deconstructing the buildings is providing opportunities for town residents, and even though it's a tiny contribution, I feel like I am helping Schroon prosper.

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Goal #3 was to use local talent and keep the money raised circulating locally.

 

Fred Bankosky of Red Horse Antiques in Schroon Lake made the estate sale a resounding success!  I requested that he "sell everything." And he did! And he is still selling! Hopefully other people will come up with ways to use the many parts left and will contact Fred to purchase them. Total revenue won't be known for a while and I'll let you know after I do!  Many thanks to Fred and his (long-suffering?) wife and helpers for making decisions I found impossible to make.  I kept trying to figure out how to keep "everything" to incorporate in the new structure, but I had virtually no clue about the value, or lack thereof, of what was there. Taking on such a huge project will necessitate hiring many other local talents, purchasing products in town, importing talent from outside Schroon who need to eat, drink, sleep and be entertained in Schroon when not working. Expenditures like these will help Schroon's economy. 

 

The fourth goal was and is to hear from "YOU."

 

I didn't grow up at Wood's like Ann, Lil and many others did.  My father was a US Navy officer, requiring us to move almost every other year until I was almost 16.  Schroon was and is my home.  I owe my existence to the Seagle Music Colony and the Town of Schroon.  I am proud that Philo Pitkin and his descendants are part of Schroon's 209-year-old history and don't want the Town to become history.  So I need the collective "you" to educate me, the sooner the better.  Four Wood siblings grew up on that property.  They must have had lots of friends.  Did you hang out with the kids at Wood's Lodge?  What was it like?  When it was in its heyday, what did you feel when you walked around?  Did you attend weddings at the Lodge?  Where were they held?  Even more important is to find out what "Wood's" should become.  Is there a feeling you can describe?  A favorite aspect that needs to find its way into the design?  What should the rooms look like?  How big should they be?  Take a few minutes to dream with me and let me know how you would complete this sentence:  If I owned Wood's Lodge, I would _____________.  Countless people ask me what I am going to do with it and I would love to be able to whip out a picture, a site plan, an elevation of the building, or even a spreadsheet.  How can I truly explain to the architect, landscape architects, hotel designer, and marketers what it will look and feel like until I hear from you?

 

There are some givens (limits) that must be remembered while you're dreaming with me.  Examples:

 

 - Height.  In our Adirondack Park, structures may not exceed 40', measured from the lowest land the building is on to the highest piece (however small) of the building.  If it is taller, I will need to ask the Park Authority (and many others) for a variance, and prefer not to do so.

 

 - Footprint.  Total square footage of the lakefront property, zoned as B-2A, allows for a behemoth of a building.  Keeping significant green space is critical to making the place attractive; I have no interest in building to the limits legally allowed.

 

 - Lake House.  Built in 1883 by Alfred Cross and originally called the Cross Cottage, the Steamboat Gothic Victorian icon must be restored.  An initial investment of about $1 million will cover lead paint and asbestos removal, the interior to be gutted, insulated, and modernized, and the porches to be restored and safe.  I am not wealthy and will seek financial support from the state and (almost) anyone who offers.

 

 - High Water Mark.  Nothing can be constructed or destroyed within 50' of the highest flood level (my unscientific explanation) without asking the Park Authority (and many others) for a variance. I prefer not to ask for a variance.  Half of the Lake House is within that 50' and is grandfathered (I don't have to remove it) but cannot be expanded. 

 

 - Appearance.  The new structure has to look like it belongs there.  It needs to look good in proximity to the Lake House.  It should not be in Steamboat Gothic style and needs to look great from Leland Avenue and from the lake.  When you first glimpse it, its natural beauty should take your breath away.

 

 - Sustainable.  Global warming is changing the status quo.  Examples of the natural destruction created by changing temperatures are visible everywhere.  The building, renovation, and operations of the inn-and-restaurant-to-be need to be "net-zero" emitters.  That impacts the construction costs, creativity required, choice of fixtures and furnishings, sourcing of materials, and everything.  Is it possible?  I have no idea, but decisions will be made with long-term sustainability as a highest priority.

 

Your suggestions will all be read and remembered as planning proceeds.  Don't expect them to be implemented verbatim but credit will be given for appealing ideas that are incorporated into the design.  I can't promise a free room or a free meal because there are many (hundreds of?) hurdles to clear.  With your support, encouragement, and willingness, the Town of Schroon and its environs will have a welcome improvement on what, since 1912, has been Wood's Lodge. 

 

A word about the "I."  My husband, Doc Shantz, and daughter, Naomi Pitkin (below on Schroon Lake),

support me in this worthy endeavor (or hare-brained catastrophe).  Doc's support varies from apathy (why didn't we buy something in North Carolina where I can play golf every day) to panic (you want me to do what!?!?) to enthusiastic (it's MY bar, you can have everything else).  Naomi figuratively pats me on the head and is happy that I'm happy.  She is returning to Johns Hopkins after a two year hiatus and we both know she needs to focus on building her own life.  Someday, this project will be ours.  But today, it's still mine.  And I drag my patient family along with me, hoping they will see what I am starting to see.  I have to keep going while they are deciding what their "support" of me should be and I love them dearly, warts and all.

 

Thank you all for caring about Schroon's history and her future.    I will be looking for your comments, referrals to local businesses, tradespeople, and suggestions!  Now I'm off to my "day jobs" so I can pay for these dreams.

 

Sincerely,

Julia Pitkin-Shantz