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Swingin' NJ

Allie

Allie

Forum Sage
Me n the co-pilot had a fan bloody tastic ride yesterday. We were in Vernon NJ at one point, so I decided to take a quick peek at the Legends Resort, which used to be the Great Gorge Resort, which used to be, back when objectifying the human body was done with panache (or kitsch, depending on who you talk to), The Playboy Club Resort.

I remember having lunch with some people there about 132,000 years ago when it was the Playboy Club, the little I saw was quite spacious, posh, ultra modern as only the 60's/70's could be modern.

These days it's apparently still in operation as the Legends resort, offering time shares, but has seen several lawsuits and complaints over the past decade and a half over poor/nonexistent services and rickety facilities among other things. A large portion of the resort apparently lies unused. The resort owners have conceded that the place could be classified as 'distressed property', to me it looks like a freakin' ghost town.



There's a functioning golf course, with a cool little silo...









Looks like some golfers over yonder, golf carts were about all the traffic I saw while on the property.




Very classy, no?



Tennis anyone?



I don't think so!



This is about all of the massive decaying parking lot that gets used. There's probably more around to the side that time share owners use (or maybe this is really it??) but I didn't go around there, so I don't know.



Notice the swath cut in the mountain for a ski slope in the above pic.

And so it goes for a languishing relic of The Heff's once mighty empire. The fate of the property remains uncertain.
 
Reminds me of the Simpson's episode where Marge finds Homer's stash of old Playdude magazines and tosses them out, but Bart and Milhouse find them in the dumpster and take them to the treehouse. They then base their new Playdude Club on the articles in the magazines, and begin lounging around in smoking jackets, smoking bubble pipes, listening to Miles Davis records, talking in swinging '60s jargon (let's make the scene), hanging out with James Caan (the coolest cat in Tinseltown), and banning girls from the treehouse unless they're in bathing suits.
 
Griffin said:
Reminds me of the Simpson's episode where Marge finds Homer's stash of old Playdude magazines and tosses them out, but Bart and Milhouse find them in the dumpster and take them to the treehouse. They then base their new Playdude Club on the articles in the magazines, and begin lounging around in smoking jackets, smoking bubble pipes, listening to Miles Davis records, talking in swinging '60s jargon (let's make the scene), hanging out with James Caan (the coolest cat in Tinseltown), and banning girls from the treehouse unless they're in bathing suits.
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I couldn't find it on Youtube, too bad. It's sounds pretty hilarious.

Among other oddities I noticed on the ride:

- A moving truck in a driveway that said 'free truck' on it in big letters. I wonder if they just leave the keys in it? Are you supposed to wait till someone's done using it to hop in and drive away??

- A big sign saying 'Entering Franklin Borough', with a big sign next to it saying 'For Sale'. I know there's not much action on Main Street since all the mines closed down, but really! As with the 'Free Truck' there's probably fine print somewhere.

- A restaurant formerly called 'Gilberto's'. This was owned by a man named Gil Murphy, and I'm pretty sure the long form didn't include an 'o'. False advertising? The food looked and smelled Italian, but maybe it was really Irish? Anyway the owner used to be the head of security at a place I worked at as a kid. It may surprise some of you but I could be 'a bit sarcastic' in my youth. I remember giving him a whole bunch of static about the 'employee parking arrangements' and how they didn't suit my 'personal preferences'. He had a rep as a nasty dirt bag and I thought it would be fun to rattle his cage a little bit. It was. I'm glad I mellowed out, too much drama is bad for the BP. Boy the motorcycle can sure be a time machine though, going through old haunts brings back a lot of memories.
 
Allie said:
I couldn't find it on Youtube, too bad. It's sounds pretty hilarious.

Among other oddities I noticed on the ride:

- A moving truck in a driveway that said 'free truck' on it in big letters. I wonder if they just leave the keys in it? Are you supposed to wait till someone's done using it to hop in and drive away??

- A big sign saying 'Entering Franklin Borough', with a big sign next to it saying 'For Sale'. I know there's not much action on Main Street since all the mines closed down, but really! As with the 'Free Truck' there's probably fine print somewhere.

- A restaurant formerly called 'Gilberto's'. This was owned by a man named Gil Murphy, and I'm pretty sure the long form didn't include an 'o'. False advertising? The food looked and smelled Italian, but maybe it was really Irish? Anyway the owner used to be the head of security at a place I worked at as a kid. It may surprise some of you but I could be 'a bit sarcastic' in my youth. I remember giving him a whole bunch of static about the 'employee parking arrangements' and how they didn't suit my 'personal preferences'. He had a rep as a nasty dirt bag and I thought it would be fun to rattle his cage a little bit. It was. I'm glad I mellowed out, too much drama is bad for the BP. Boy the motorcycle can sure be a time machine though, going through old haunts brings back a lot of memories.
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There is a little "getaway" in southern Indiana called the "Story Inn". It is the remains of a little burg that was purchased in the '90s by someone who turned the whole town into a resort (or sorts). There is a restaurant (the former store), and several houses that rent out as individual hotel rooms. My wife and I stayed there recently, in "Doc Story's House", which was built in 1851. No phone, no tv, no internet, and a bed made by Pa Ingalls in the 1880s.

If you like peace and quiet, it's the place to go.

http://storyinn.com/

Maybe the "movers and shakers" in Franklin Borough have a similar idea?
 
Griffin said:
There is a little "getaway" in southern Indiana called the "Story Inn". It is the remains of a little burg that was purchased in the '90s by someone who turned the whole town into a resort (or sorts). There is a restaurant (the former store), and several houses that rent out as individual hotel rooms. My wife and I stayed there recently, in "Doc Story's House", which was built in 1851. No phone, no tv, no internet, and a bed made by Pa Ingalls in the 1880s.

If you like peace and quiet, it's the place to go.

http://storyinn.com/

Maybe the "movers and shakers" in Franklin Borough have a similar idea?
Click to expand...

YES!! That place is just swimming in awesome sauce! I'd stay there in a minute, Laura Ingalls night gown is a must.
 
The Catskills have many dead/dying/decaying resorts if you need another destination.
 
B.C.G.S. said:
The Catskills have many dead/dying/decaying resorts if you need another destination.
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I hear the Poconos are getting pretty shabby too. I've never actually been there, might be interesting to go poke around there one day. Har, a Pocono poke, oh no!
 
The Story Inn also has a ghost nicknamed "The Blue Lady". According to one guest entry, she revealed her name which I find to be interesting:

http://storyinn.com/is-story-haunted

I met the ‘Blue Lady’ of Story, IN. It was Saturday night at 10:10 p.m. and I was sitting in the corner rocking chair gazing out the back door. I kept feeling like somebody was watching me. The next thing I knew I was staring at the face of the ‘Blue Lady’ in the glass of the back door. Her deep piercing blue eyes were hypnotic and I felt as if I could not look away. Finally, breaking the spell, I was able to ask her who she was,. That’s when I found out her name was ‘Allie.’ Before I could ask her any more questions, she was gone.

-Mr. and Mrs. B, St. Louis, MO, April 26, 1997.
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https://projectabsurd.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/frontier-town-north-hudson-ny/

Frontier Town was one of the places I used to go to as a kid. I didn't live in the Adirondacks but my parents were from there and most of my relatives were there so we were there at Christmas and in the summer. There were these post-war vacation places like Frontier Town, Land of Make Believe etc. I think that once the Northway interstate was finished around 1967 all of these places lost their appeal....like Route 66.
 
https://projectabsurd.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/frontier-town-north-hudson-ny/

Frontier Town was one of the places I used to go to as a kid. I didn't live in the Adirondacks but my parents were from there and most of my relatives were there so we were there at Christmas and in the summer. There were these post-war vacation places like Frontier Town, Land of Make Believe etc. I think that once the Northway interstate was finished around 1967 all of these places lost their appeal....like Route 66.
 
Bert Patterson said:
https://projectabsurd.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/frontier-town-north-hudson-ny/

Frontier Town was one of the places I used to go to as a kid. I didn't live in the Adirondacks but my parents were from there and most of my relatives were there so we were there at Christmas and in the summer. There were these post-war vacation places like Frontier Town, Land of Make Believe etc. I think that once the Northway interstate was finished around 1967 all of these places lost their appeal....like Route 66.
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Bert Patterson said:
https://projectabsurd.wordpress.com/2009/09/10/frontier-town-north-hudson-ny/

Frontier Town was one of the places I used to go to as a kid. I didn't live in the Adirondacks but my parents were from there and most of my relatives were there so we were there at Christmas and in the summer. There were these post-war vacation places like Frontier Town, Land of Make Believe etc. I think that once the Northway interstate was finished around 1967 all of these places lost their appeal....like Route 66.
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We have a 'Wild West City a few miles from me, and a 'Land of Make Believe as well a little further out. 'Fairy Tale Forest' was a quaint little park for kids, founded and run by I think a German immigrant until about the 90s. It's been turned into a self storage facility recently but the new owners kind of worked with a lot of the existing structures including the giant walk - in shoe. The name of the place references the shoe, I forget how... time to dig out the pics I took.

We have a 'Wild West City a few miles from me, and a 'Land of Make Believe as well a little further out. 'Fairy Tale Forest' was a quaint little park for kids, founded and run by I think a German immigrant until about the 90s. It's been turned into a self storage facility recently but the new owners kind of worked with a lot of the existing structures including the giant walk - in shoe. The name of the place references the shoe, I forget how... time to dig out the pics I took.
 
Is Vernon Valley still open? The ski resort with Alpine Slide in the summer? I remember going up there in 78-79, good times. :)
 
RichDesmond said:
Is Vernon Valley still open? The ski resort with Alpine Slide in the summer? I remember going up there in 78-79, good times. :)
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Vernon Valley was owned by Gene Mulvihill in its heyday, then some other, like, dudes bought it in the late 90s and changed its name to Mountain Creek. It was sold back to Mulvihill after around ten years, the place changed a lot in that period. The base lodge burned down in 99, they used a bunch of tents for a base lodge for like 9 years or so (explanation unknown). They built a huge shopping complex and hotel where the main parking lot used to be. A lot (all?) of the chairs have been upgraded, they've got gondola chairs, at least a couple of them. The summer attraction, Action Park, was closed a couple years before Mulvihill sold it in the 90s. When the new people bought it, the reopened the water park but got rid of the Alpine Slide and Motor World. The water park was renamed 'Action Park' again, with some new rides apparently attempting to recapture some of the reckless fun of the old park. I have no idea what it's like now. There is a new permanent base lodge for the skiing too. Mulvihill died a couple of years ago, now I think one of his kids runs the place, I think Andy.

I worked there in the mid 80s. I worked in the ski rental shop during winters, did landscaping and stuff during the summers (and often got overtime by helping at the park). The ski shop was fun, I did just about literally every job from bottom to top, or from the 'boot room' to binding tech, to managing the shop in Great Gorge South. Lots of memories attached to that place, including after hours partying.
 
Thanks for all the info. I had heard something about them having financial troubles, but didn't know any of the details. Shame that the Alpine Slide is gone, that was a total hoot. Still have a scar on my left shoulder from it. :)
 
I remember Action Park and the alpine slide. That was a blast. It was only a pain when you had some slow poke in front of you afraid of going too fast!
 
The Alpine Slide was the first summer attraction at the ski resort, but I forget the exact chronology. Roughly, GG opened in the late 60s, followed by VV in the early-mid 70s. I'm struggling to remember dates here. They were owned independently of each other initially, then merged some time in the mid 70s to form Vernon Valley/Great Gorge. I'm tempted to say that the Alpine Slide was installed by GG early on, and after the merger it got absorbed as part of 'Action Park' (or 'Accident Park', 'Traction Park', 'Class Action Park' etc.). It's nestled in between the two ski areas, but though it's geographically closer to VV it was the area known as 'Great Gorge North'. GG had the more technical slopes (designed and owned by some like, Olympic Ski type dudes), and consisted of 'Great Gorge South' with the base lodge, and 'Great Gorge North' which you could ONLY access via a connecting trail at the top of the mountain. The trail was long and usually arduous, and on several winters was closed altogether leaving only GG south available. GG North was added shortly after VV opened, and ironically VV had easier access to those slopes than GG South.

Yeah too bad they yanked it out. Often the brakes didn't work properly on the sleds, and people would crash into folks in front of them, or get flung into the woods at a sharp bend, or the cart would swivel right out of the track and spit you down the cement and fiberglass track. That's when you got major 'Alpine Slide Burn'. It's pretty much road rash, though you don't get torn up as bad as with pavement, and don't have to pick little bits of gravel out of your wounds. It's more like touching a fan belt while it's spinning... I once had rash on my left side starting at my foot, going up my ankle, calf, thigh, side of my abdomen, shoulder, upper arm, and behind my ear. Yes I, like many a hapless customer, was drunk at the time. We'd been doing some drinking after work and I decided that I wasn't going to drive for at least 2-3 hours - but that getting on the Alpine Slide would be totally safe. heheh.
 
Allie said:
The Alpine Slide was the first summer attraction at the ski resort, but I forget the exact chronology. Roughly, GG opened in the late 60s, followed by VV in the early-mid 70s. I'm struggling to remember dates here. They were owned independently of each other initially, then merged some time in the mid 70s to form Vernon Valley/Great Gorge. I'm tempted to say that the Alpine Slide was installed by GG early on, and after the merger it got absorbed as part of 'Action Park' (or 'Accident Park', 'Traction Park', 'Class Action Park' etc.). It's nestled in between the two ski areas, but though it's geographically closer to VV it was the area known as 'Great Gorge North'. GG had the more technical slopes (designed and owned by some like, Olympic Ski type dudes), and consisted of 'Great Gorge South' with the base lodge, and 'Great Gorge North' which you could ONLY access via a connecting trail at the top of the mountain. The trail was long and usually arduous, and on several winters was closed altogether leaving only GG south available. GG North was added shortly after VV opened, and ironically VV had easier access to those slopes than GG South.

Yeah too bad they yanked it out. Often the brakes didn't work properly on the sleds, and people would crash into folks in front of them, or get flung into the woods at a sharp bend, or the cart would swivel right out of the track and spit you down the cement and fiberglass track. That's when you got major 'Alpine Slide Burn'. It's pretty much road rash, though you don't get torn up as bad as with pavement, and don't have to pick little bits of gravel out of your wounds. It's more like touching a fan belt while it's spinning... I once had rash on my left side starting at my foot, going up my ankle, calf, thigh, side of my abdomen, shoulder, upper arm, and behind my ear. Yes I, like many a hapless customer, was drunk at the time. We'd been doing some drinking after work and I decided that I wasn't going to drive for at least 2-3 hours - but that getting on the Alpine Slide would be totally safe. heheh.
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Haha, great story! The "Alpine Slide Burn" is what I got, sled came out from under me in the lower section and my upper arm/shoulder took the brunt of it. You definitely have me beat though. :)
 
I forgot to mention that one of the plans in the 70s was to link Great Gorge with the Playboy Club via a huge gondola sky car thingy, but the plan never materialized into the flower of hedonistic splendor that they envisioned. I guess Jack Kurlander's pockets weren't as deep as Gene Mulvihill's and he was kind of over extended with that and with GG North, hence becoming absorbed by Vernon Valley.
 
Jiminy Peak in Mass. has had an alpine slide since the late 70s. GS Forum road trip, anyone? :cool:
 
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