15 Comments Posted by Howie

My grandparents worked here back during its heyday. My grandfather played his fiddle on the roof. I heard it was the talk of the town back in it's day. Also, I heard the real reason it shut down was because the boiler room caught on fire. Thanks for the history!

My grandparents both worked here. My grandfather played his fiddle on the roof. I heard it was a great facility and it was the talk of the town. Also, I heard that the real reason they shut the place down was because the boiler room caught on fire. Great history! Thanks.

T--thanks, forgot it was called the Riverdale.
It was an upgrade--no cockroaches. just an ocassional snake that would slither in. We even purchased a window A/C unit to keep the place cool in summer. ..until it was reported to the Erlichs that staff were using their electricity.

hey donna; i'm sure i worked there during the same time as you...from '79 through summer '81

to Mike: When did you work at the pines?
What did you do there?

just went into a box of crap and dug out my old staff room key (circa 1982) with the same green key tag shown in the photo.

in response to Julies question..."WHY leave the plants and take all the curtains?????? "

The curtains and other useful decor were sold to other resorts that remained in operation (ie. the Villa Roma). Ironically, the curtains are gone since the leveling of the main bldg due to the fire in April '06.

we had curtains too in the staff house/bungalow across the street from the main entrance, but it was a blanket held up with thumb tacks to cover our window.

I recommend going there if you can...drove by on 12/24/06 and was actually shocked at how much more overgrown the property was. There must be some amazing relics inside there...definitely free for the taking if you have the balls to enter.

Donna---was there a life guard when you were there---a blonde named Halina?

I lived in the Ritz in 1980 & 81 what a hell hole. we had to sleep with lights on so the cockroaches wouldn't come out. There was a life sized mural drawn on my wall of a junkie shooting up--real nice to wake up to.--Upgraded in 82 across the street from the hotel--forgot what the place was called.

Tom Tom is dead on accurate about the pool at night !!

As Donna stated above...the cry of "IMMIGRATION" actually happened on numerous occassions. The Kitchen steward Alan (Hunt??) was a total A-hole. The only way to get even was to empty out all the illegals from the kitchen, typically minutes before lunch , as nearly 1,000 guests were about to stuff themselves. The benefit of doing this before lunch was so they'd also be screwed short handed for dinner the same night and breakfast the next morning. It was a helluva payback. That was the poorest run kitchen, the Bd. of health could have shut it down at anytime.

when its beyond repair, they usually turn it into staff housing--at least that's what it was like from 1980-82

Like Donna the lifeguard, I too worked at the Pines from 1980 to 1982 as a busboy. What a fun time---great place to work & spend the summer---party at the Chalet & grow up fast. I remember Rock the bellhop & Tom the waiter too....Also my dining room buddies; Gary M. Hi-Guy (aka Jay S., Dave R. & Steve L.
Been vacationing up there at the Villa Roma the last few years.