“It is by no means an unimportant thing to create a beautiful and picturesque interior. There is no influence so potent upon life as harmonious surroundings, and to create and possess a home which is harmonious in a simple and inexpensive way is the privilege of all but the wretchedly poor,” Wheeler wrote over a century ago, setting a mighty ball rolling to today’s world of Ikeas and West Elms. “In proportion also as these surroundings become more perfect in their art and meaning, there is a corresponding elevation in the dweller among them – since the best decoration must include many spiritual lessons. It may indeed be used to further vulgar ambitions or pamper bodily weaknesses, but truth and beauty are its essentials, and these will have their utterance.” Talk about bringing the timeless lessons of rural beginnings – and the Catskills – to everyone.
Roxbury, way up in the Catskills, has always had a level of cool beyond many other rural communities its size. Robber baron Jay Gould and pioneer environmentalist John Burroughs were both born here (and attended a one-room schoolhouse together). Later, each built homes in the area – to which they invited the key Americans of the day, many of whom also built summer retreats in the area. Now the community’s getting known, internationally, as home to one of the hippest motels anywhere, complete with an equally hip cocktail lounge and moderne eatery across the street.
How did this latest incarnation come about? Blame two ex-Manhattanites with a bit of theater background: Greg Henderson and Joseph Massa, who bought and renovated an old closed-down rural motel years ago, and then used their former Off-Broadway theatrical experience and dreams to guide their room-decorating aesthetics. The result gained Henderson a state entrepreneurship award, and is centering a stylish revival to Roxbury and surrounding upper Catskills life in the former dairylands of Delaware County.
They call the place – in operation since 2004 – the Roxbury. It’s a gem, and well worth a wild weekend’s or weeknight’s visit.
For more about the Roxbury Motel and Public Lounge, call (607) 326-7200 or visit www.theroxburymotel.com. For more information on Candace Wheeler (1827-1923), visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art website at https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/cawh/hd_cawh.htm.
