The Wellington Hotel, a once-grand 19th-century resort in the heart of Pine Hill, has been named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2025 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Built in 1882 and vacant for decades, the hotel now faces structural failure and, with it, the loss of a cornerstone of Catskills history.
“If all goes well, we are $1.5 million short of where we need to be,” said Jan Jaffe, a Pine Hill resident and one of the project’s organizers. “We need one bad storm, and this will be moot.”
The designation brings national attention to a locally led preservation effort two years in the making. In December 2022, 20 Pine Hill residents formed Wellington Blueberry LLC and purchased the hotel for $325,000, launching an ambitious $7.5 million plan to transform it into affordable apartments, a grocery store, and a café. The building is currently stabilized, but its aging stone foundation is at risk of collapse.
“Don’t let this one fall into the creek, which it will if we don’t raise enough money,” Jaffe said.
A $1.6 million Restore New York grant has already been secured through Ulster County, and the group is leveraging historic tax credits while awaiting other funding decisions. But construction can’t begin until full financing is in place. “If we don’t finish, we can’t use the money we have until we raise the money we need,” Jaffe said. “No guarantees we can finish.”
Over the past year, volunteers hauled away 30 dumpsters of debris and invested nearly $200,000 into architectural drawings, flood mitigation studies, and stabilization. Plans call for the building to house 10 apartments and a new food market and café—services that Jaffe and others say are desperately needed in a town with limited rental availability and no reliable source for groceries.
“The lack of housing here is sapping our civic vitality,” she said earlier this year. “Business owners can’t find workers, and that limits what’s possible for the town’s economy.”
Built during the Catskills’ golden age of tourism, the 12,000-square-foot Wellington retains many of its original features: parquet floors, a grand staircase, transoms, and high ceilings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and designated a contributing property within the Pine Hill Historic District in 2010.
The Wellington Hotel in its early 20th-century prime, when Pine Hill was a bustling Catskills resort destination. The hotel remains one of the last surviving large-scale wood-frame resorts landmarks of that era. Photo courtesy of the Shandaken Historical Museum. 
A view of the upstairs hallway inside the Wellington Hotel, where original wood floors, tall ceilings, and transom windows hint at the building’s 19th-century grandeur. Roy Gumpel/The Overlook. 
A view of the Wellington from across the street at the Colonial Inn & Restaurant. Roy Gumpel/The Overlook. 
A vintage postcard of the Wellington Hotel offers a glimpse into the past. Courtesy of the Shandaken Historical Museum.
“The Wellington is an important property to save,” Jaffe said. “We specialize in endangering things as a country, but shining a light on specific properties can trigger someone to help save this.”
The National Trust’s annual list has spotlighted more than 350 endangered sites since its creation in 1988. Fewer than 5 percent of those named have been lost.
“This recognition is not just symbolic,” said Carol Quillen, president and CEO of the National Trust, in a statement. “It shows the power of preservation to create stronger communities, energized local economies, and a healthier environment for everyone.”
For Pine Hill, residents hope it brings something more tangible: a second chance.
Noah Eckstein is the editor-in-chief of The Overlook. Send correspondence to noah@theoverlooknews.com.