On Friday night, I traveled back in time to learn about the history of Lake Placid and all the varied reasons that people have been drawn to our beautiful pocket of the Adirondacks over the years. With the fireplace roaring in the corner of the cozy upstairs room of Generations Restaurant in the Golden Arrow Lakeside 
Resort, historian Elizabeth Warburton (hosted by the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society) led us on a tour of past travelers and evergreen destinations. Over the course of the evening, as she spoke about all the folks who visited before us, I thought that those early visitors must have looked into this same fireplace, and enjoyed the same sense of companionship, comfort, and discovery that we shared that night.
The lecture covered the history of Lake Placid's early tourism, the influence of the invention of the automobile on tourism, the history of camps, courts and motels and the impact that the signage and design of the motel structures have had on their businesses. Warburton discussed the impact of the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid and how it brought a new crowd to the area and gave Lake Placid another way to market itself to visitors. She also talked about the Alpine design of many of the Lake Placid motels and how historians believe that the design was influences by the many German immigrants that settled in the Lake Placid area. She made specific mention of the architecture of The Wildwood Motel, Art Devlin's Olympic Motor Inn and The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort (which was home to our lecture).
Warburton is finishing her Master's degree in Historic Preservation at The University of Vermont, and she worked on her lecture with guidance from Adirondack 
Architectural Heritage (AARCH) Executive Director, Steven Engelhart. AARCH is a nonprofit historic preservation organization for New York State's Adirondack Park. Warburton focused on the Lake Placid area because of a love of the region and a long family history of visiting the area.
Warburton chose The Generations Restaurant inside The Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort as the venue for her talk because of its history; the way the resort has grown from a simple motor court into a popular large resort. She concluded the lecture discussing the importance of historic preservation and cherishing these motels as cultural icons. These charming and storied lodgings provide us with important glimpses into our past and keep people returning year after year to share our wonderful and historical Adirondack paradise.
Wharburton's sponsor, the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society, is a non-profit that was created in 1948 for the purpose of documenting the history of the Village of Lake Placid and the Town of North Elba. The Society is housed in the Lake Placid train station which also houses a museum for visitors to enjoy, hosting exhibits such as: "The Era of the Grand Hotels" and "Birthplace of Winter Sports." The talk I attended on Friday was part of a series which will include upcoming lectures on Timbuctoo, boat building in the Adirondacks and women writers of the Adirondacks.
It was a lovely evening of great people and lively historical discussion in a warm and inviting atmosphere. I left eager to attend the next Lake Placid-North Elba
Historical Society lecture. If you want to see beyond the surface of the buildings you pass on your trips through the Adirondacks, you should catch one of the upcoming lectures and learn more about our area. To find out more about future lectures by the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society check our events calendar at our website: Lakeplacid.com. To find out more about The Society and the museum check their website at lakeplacidhistory.com.
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