Minnowbrook Conference Center Special Collections Research Center

Minnowbrook, Main Lodge, SU Photo & Imaging RS 8353

Acquired: 1954

Original Lodge: Constructed ca. 1900; destroyed by fire 1947

Reconstructed: 1949; destroyed by fire January 27, 1988

Reconstructed: 1988-1989

Occupied: July 1989

Cost: $2 million

Architects: Schleicher-Soper of Syracuse, NY

Contractor: Northeast Developers, Inc., Syracuse

Style: Great Camp or Grand Lodge style of Nineteenth Century

Materials: Exterior of Douglas fir logs, roof of western red cedar, Douglas fir tongue and groove floors, 4 of the 5 original stone fireplaces were salvaged

Space: 8,800 square feet; 28.6 acre property

Location: Syracuse University's Conference Center at Blue Mountain Lake in Adirondack State Park, New York

Notes: One-third larger than the lodge it replaced, the main lodge was reconstructed to retain the original architectural heritage while meeting updated building codes and energy-efficiency standards. It contains five fireplaces, 10 bedrooms, a dining room, and a Great Room with a 24-foot high cathedral ceiling with exposed trusses and balcony railings hand-hewn on site by Rocky Mountain Log Homes of Montana. A separate guesthouse incorporates the lodge's original ice house which was untouched by the fire. Also having survived the fire, the original boathouse, floatplane hangar and garage were each renovated and modernized.