Lake Placid Club, Forest Wing, East side of Mirror Lake Drive, North of State Route 86 & Main, North Elba, Essex County, NY

Significance: The Lake Placid Club, Forest Wing, is a chain of individual buildings that were, over time, connected by glass enclosed corridors under one roof, with additional appendages added for expansion over the years. This process of connection, consolidation, and expansion occurred from 1906-1955 to form the "Forest Wing" or "Forest Winter Clubhouse" at the Lake Placid Club Resort. The construction and use of these consolidated buildings during the winter months initiated the development of winter sports activities in the Northeastern United States. The founders of the resort were Dr. Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) and his wife, Annie Godfrey Dewey (1850-1922). Dr. Melvil Dewey and his son, Godfrey Dewey (1887-1977) were largely responsible for the Lake Placid community hosting the III Olympic Winter Games in 1932. Dr. Dewey was the creator of the Dewey Decimal Classification System used by most libraries around the world. The name "Lake Placid Club" was originated by Dr. Dewey after he had formed a cooperative membership organization for users of the resort retreat in 1895, initially called "Placid Club", when it was incorporated as a membership corporation under New York State Law in 1896.
Survey number: HABS NY-6306