Borscht Belt - The Concord Hotel, Breezy Corners & Kiamesha Lake

Borscht Belt - The Concord Hotel, Breezy Corners and Kiamesha Lake. . , This property was once part of the Concord Hotel. The largest Borscht Belt Hotel, the Concord boasted 1,200 guest rooms, a football-field sized dining room, a 3,000-seat theater called the Imperial Room, a "Monster" golf course, and many luxurious amenities overlooking Kiamesha Lake. It hosted acts such as Judy Garland, Tony Bennett, Barbara Streisand, Jerry Seinfeld, Joan Rivers, Diana Ross, and Aretha Franklin. In 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the keynote speech at the Rabbinical Assembly convention at the hotel ten days before he was assassinated. The Concord closed in 1998. This property was also once part of Breezy Corners Bungalow Colony. Breezy Corners had its own nightclub. The Revolution Room where some of the biggest names of 1960s and 1970s music played, including Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac. Breezy Corners closed in 2008. Along with about 20 hotels and bungalow colonies other notable Kiamesha destinations were the Gibber, the Gradus, and Mayfair Hotels., From the 1920s through the early 1970s, the Borscht Belt was the preeminent summer resort destination for hundreds of thousands of predominantly east coast American Jews. The exclusion of the Jewish community from existing establishments in the 1920s drove Jewish entrepreneurs to create over 500 resorts, 50,000 bungalows and 1,000 rooming houses in Sullivan County and parts of Ulster County. The Borscht Belt provided a sense of community for working and vacationing Jews. The era exerted a strong influence on American culture, particularly in the realm of entertainment, music, and sports. Some of the most well-known and influential people of the 20th century worked and vacationed in the areas. Beginning around 1960, the Borscht Belt began a gradual demise due to many factors including the growth of suburbia, inexpensive airfare, and generational changes.