A VIew of the waldmere from chautauqua lake
Even as the new government took shape, the village itself was beginning to change. The resort hotel business which made up the backbone of the local economy, began to falter in the 1890s. The short summer seasons did not bring in enough revenue to cover the always increasing costs of maintenance and operation. The Sterlingworth Hotel had attempted to increase its income by remaining open the entire winter of 1892-3. Part of the huge facility was used as a recuperative center for the Humanitas Corporation, a drug and alcohol treatment program. Its ballroom was open to the public and many wintertime festivities took place. This one experience proved disastrous, as the income from the activities did not come close to covering the expense of heating the structure during the long winter season.
Resort life in the two large hotels ended during the first decade of the 1900s. The Sterlingworth Hotel was renamed the Waldmere in the mid 1890s and saw only limited occupancy as an Annex to the neighboring Kent House. It burned to the ground in 1902. The Kent House remained standing but several attempts to revive its business failed. It was permanently closed in 1909 and all of its furnishings sold at auction.
During the 1890s, as the hotel business dwindled, many large homes were built along the lakeshore. To the west of the beach the Howard Park Association, under the sponsorship of the Congregational Church Society, laid out streets, uniquely named “Ways.” Half of the income from the sale or rent of the substantial homes built by the Society went to the Congregational Church. Farther west, the 65-acre Waldmere Park Development, financed by a number of prosperous Jamestown businessmen, laid out quarter acre lots for home building in a Tuxedo Park setting. In 1896 Lakewood had 248 large summer homes. Many of the homes which were built at that time remain, located on the streets all along the lakefront area, both east and west.
Resort life in the two large hotels ended during the first decade of the 1900s. The Sterlingworth Hotel was renamed the Waldmere in the mid 1890s and saw only limited occupancy as an Annex to the neighboring Kent House. It burned to the ground in 1902. The Kent House remained standing but several attempts to revive its business failed. It was permanently closed in 1909 and all of its furnishings sold at auction.
During the 1890s, as the hotel business dwindled, many large homes were built along the lakeshore. To the west of the beach the Howard Park Association, under the sponsorship of the Congregational Church Society, laid out streets, uniquely named “Ways.” Half of the income from the sale or rent of the substantial homes built by the Society went to the Congregational Church. Farther west, the 65-acre Waldmere Park Development, financed by a number of prosperous Jamestown businessmen, laid out quarter acre lots for home building in a Tuxedo Park setting. In 1896 Lakewood had 248 large summer homes. Many of the homes which were built at that time remain, located on the streets all along the lakefront area, both east and west.
