Mt. Washington House

The one question asked here over and over again is “did somebody new buy The Mount?” The answer is a resounding NO! In her rich 127-year history, the Fox family has owned The Mount the longest. Now she is undergoing a well-deserved second-generation revival, which we believe has sparked new interest and the occasional tittle-tattle around town. While we love all the attention, and wholeheartedly agree with Oscar Wilde when he said, “there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about” — we also think the record needs to be set straight... tame, torrid or otherwise.

Yes, it’s true that the Mount Washington House has changed hands many times throughout her history (most likely due to the high maintenance of this 14,000-square-foot building) — but for the most part, it has always served as a tavern, restaurant and guest house. Built in 1881 by newlyweds Levi and Emma Zeh as a wedding present from the bride’s family, it was originally intended as a summer house, open only from June 15th to September 15th.

It’s also true that there was a Speakeasy in the ballroom on the third floor during Prohibition, which probably brought with it everything history claims it did — live bands, floor shows, flappers and corruption! When Prohibition ended in 1933, The Mount had changed forever. Try as we might, we have no solid evidence that it ever served as a brothel. And, while the architectural style of The Mount is Second Empire Mansard (a style often associated with Halloween, hauntings and spirits), we’ve never encountered any ghosts.

The building later served as the area’s high school for a few years while the Roe Jan School was being built. In the 1950s, Paul and Asta Nord owned The Mount and were successful in creating a popular destination for Scandinavian tourists who would take the “SkiBus” from Manhattan to come ski at Catamount. [The most recent restoration in the banquet room relocated the huge Fjord painting by a Norwegian guest in 1951 from the Parlor to the Tavern.] The Nord’s famous Smorgasbord remained an integral part of the business through the 1970s and will soon be resumed at The Mount!

The Fox family has had the longest love affair with the Mt. Washington House. Jimmy Fox, originally from Brewster, NY, bought the fixer-upper of all fixer-uppers in 1972. After being declined for not one, but two mortgages (don’t you think that would tell you something?) he didn’t give up. Young Jimmy literally surprised his new bride, Marjorie, with it in their second year of marriage. The whole thing must have seemed like a great idea at the time since the building was within walking distance from the train to Manhattan, but unfortunately service stopped just nineteen days after he bought it. Fortunately, Margie didn’t divorce him and they had one daughter in 1973. Jim Fox passed away after a brief bout with cancer in 1993 and Marge ran just the Tavern until she died in 2006. Their daughter decided to leave big city life and a successful career to finish the renovations her father started long ago.

Today, the Mt. Washington House serves as a restaurant that dishes up really good food, a tavern that inspires friendship, good conversation and a great game of billiards, and a place where local musicians regularly entertain our souls.