The Lake Placid Club Lodges is located on a portion of the property once known as the Lake Placid Club. A social and recreation club founded in 1895 in a hotel on Mirror Lake, the Club grew to 9,600 acres, with 356 buildings, its own theatre, library, boathouses, tennis courts, golf courses, farms, a staff of 1100, a fire department and even a school–today known as Northwood School.
Under Melvil Dewey’s leadership and according to his ideals, the Lake Placid Club was instrumental in Lake Placid’s development as an internationally-known resort. His son Godfrey was instrumental in bringing the Winter Olympics to Lake Placid in 1932. Without the club’s facilities and its national profile, Lake Placid would not have qualified to host the Games.
Membership declined steadily as vacationing trends among the wealthy changed, and the Club closed soon after serving as headquarters for the International Olympic Committee during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Its last buildings were demolished in January 2002.
Lake Placid Club in Florida
Have you ever mentioned visiting Lake Placid to friends, only to receive a response such as, “see any alligators?” The popular movie definitely helped to create the confusion but it may surprise you to learn that there is an actual shared history between the two locations of Lake Placid. In 1926 Melvil Dewey established a southern branch of the Lake Placid Club in Lake Stearns, Florida; the town was renamed Lake Placid as a result.