New York Hotel which inspired ‘Dirty Dancing’ gets destroyed by Fire

The building was part of the abandoned Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel in Liberty, New York. Burned down on Tuesday, according to authorities

The ‘Dirty Dancing’ resort becomes dirt due to fire

A famous resort known for Dirty Dancing served as an inspiration for it was consumed by fire nearly 35 years after the film premiered. On Tuesday, firefighters rushed to a blaze at a building that was part of the since-abandoned Grossinger’s Catskill Hotel in Liberty, New York, according to a Facebook post from the Liberty Fire Department.

"While en route, multiple calls into Sullivan 911 reported a large structure on fire at the old Grossinger's Hotel property," the post read. "A smoke column was now visible for several miles. First arriving units had to cut through a gate in order to access the roadway to get to the fire. Upon reaching the fire it was found to be a 3 ½ story building that was now well involved."

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The concrete barriers hindered the efforts of the firefighters on the property, and the foliage was overgrown. Still, the authorities stated that the fire was brought under control after several hours of constant work, and an excavator was used to knock down the structure. An investigation into the fire at the former hotel has been started to find the culprit. 

After the fire, most of the beloved resort has been torn down after falling into disrepair.

Significance of the Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel 

According to the Associated Press, the Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel was a popular vacation destination for many Jewish families before its closing in 1986. The outlet reported that the resort was also the backdrop for Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds’s wedding in Sept. 1955.

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Elanoer Bergstein, the screenwriter of the movie Dirty Dancing, opened up about her childhood vacations at the resort and how they inspired the 1987 film at a 2021 event at the Center for Jewish History.

"My parents would hit the golf course and I would just go to the dance studio as a little girl," she said. "On Thursday night champagne hour I would come out and do all these mambos and things."

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In the movie, Baby is a teenager whose life takes a 360-degree turn after she meets sexy, enigmatic dance instructor Johnny Castle at an upscale Catskills resort, Kellerman’s, during the summer of 1963.

Is a sequel to Dirty Dancing coming up next?? 

In April, the movie-creating company Lionsgate announced that Grey would return to Kellerman's resort in the next chapter of the highly-anticipated sequel to the 1987 romantic dance drama. 

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According to an outlet, the film will also be titled Dirty Dancing, "will be a coming-of-age romance centered on the experience of a young woman at the summer camp, but Baby's journey will intertwine with this to create a multi-layered narrative."

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The film's director Jonathan Levine said the late Patrick Swayze's character, Johnny Castle, will be "part of Baby's journey in the story."

"This film exists in a dialogue with the original," he revealed. "We want to introduce this story to a whole new generation. That said, Johnny's absence looms large over the story, so it's a coming-of-age story but also a coming-of-age for Baby's character in a way."