The Terrace Motel high above the southwestern edge of Ellenville is no more. Four years ago, in 2021, it was supposed to be brought back to its glory years. A new group of owners had plans to restore the motel enough that, by 2022, it could reopen as a 20-room lodging with a pool. The next year, they planned to roll out a spa, sauna, indoor event space, and restaurant.

It made the news all the way to the New York Times, who weren’t alone in anticipating a new golden age of the vintage roadside motel. After all, these mountains are studded with midcentury masterpieces filled to the brim with authentic art deco detailing.

But 2021 came and went without the Terrace. Then the next year, then the next. All that came out of this ambitious rehabilitation process, really, was a yard sale, when hundreds of people came to snag a little bit of Borscht Belt memorabilia.

Last year, the motel was sold to another round of owners with the same ambitions. They were going to bring it back to what it was. But almost before the ink was dry on the contract, the Terrace was condemned and demolished. Those eight acres can be redeveloped, but they can no longer be restored to any kind of former glory.

There are a lot of beautiful old buildings tucked away up here, and many are vacant. If this were Florida or Arizona, we probably wouldn’t have to worry too much about that fact. I’ve seen art deco structures survive crushing neglect down south.

For example, I could show you a remarkable art deco changing room on a half-abandoned beach in Central Florida that’s so neglected, you feel like Robinson Crusoe coming upon it. It has to withstand wind and rain like we never see. Inside, on a good day, it’s snakes and wasps. But the structure looks just fine, because it never has to stand up to the cold. Up here, as everybody knows, once winter gets inside a building, there’s rarely a happy ending.

Ellenville (and, really, the entire region) has been looking to the preservation of former glory as a way to bounce into a brighter future. From the Borscht Belt Museum to the art gallery newly opened on the site of the Wayside Inn, the splendor of what used to be here is used as a way to bring something new – just look at all the vintage resort photos on display inside The Common Good bookstore. History matters in the long, slow process of resurrection.

To that end, the Ellenville/Wawarsing Historical Preservation Commission had listed the Terrace as a site worthy of historical landmarking. But it might have been too late. The idea never made it out of the paperwork pile, and the village trustees hadn’t even heard of the commission’s interest before the building was taken down. Mayor Trent has said he wants to examine that process to better understand what locations are on the historical commission’s list.

That’s a good start, but we at the Journal think we need to see a greater sense of urgency from area governments and developers on preserving and rehabilitating the last of our classic early- to mid-20th century architecture.

We’ve said a lot of goodbyes in the past few years, from the movie star Grossinger’s Resort in Liberty to the charming 613 Auto lot across from the Terrace. Last year, a fire destroyed the remarkable Winter Lodge at the Nevele, the oldest building on the site – quite possibly the result of an errant campfire or arson by one of the many visitors to the empty old monolith.

The quirky ten-story tower at the Nevele, the first thing to greet arrivals from the Route 52 approach on the Ridge, has been slated for demolition for at least five years now. Outside of the Mohonk Mountain House, it’s probably the most visible and iconic relic left of the resort years. When that day comes, and the final goodbye is said to the Borscht Belt glory days, it might be more painful than we expect now.

In the meantime, we hope the mix-up over the historical status of the Terrace acts as a wake-up call to all the municipalities around here. It’s time to take a hard look at what’s left of our history, and see what we can save. Winter is getting into a lot of buildings.