They Couldn’t Forget This Cheap Old Playhouse — So They Bought It
A listing for a spacious 1930s Tudor-style playhouse in Liberty, NY (in the historic Borscht Belt!) was one super special listing that caught the eye of Monica Byrne…
Time and again we hear about cheap old house lovers who just can’t seem to forget a property that caught their attention from our Cheap Old Houses feed…
A listing for a spacious 1930s Tudor-style playhouse in Liberty, NY (in the historic Borscht Belt!) was one super special listing that caught the eye of Monica Byrne, who attended a summer camp near there, and her wife, Leisah Swenson, who is a big theater fan.
They immediately toured the dwelling, which was once the social hall for the Shelburne Hotel and functioned as a small bungalow resort until the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1965. Ideas of what the playhouse could be now swirled—A rustic loft? A performance space? Or a great room for hosting special events?
Then Covid hit and the dream was paused.
The property, with its soaring ceilings and wooden trusses, was fairly forgotten until a couple years ago when—out of the blue—Leisah called their real estate agent to see what happened to the playhouse.
His reply, “I have someone coming to sign an agreement this afternoon. You have two hours to get here.”
They raced over and landed their Catskills playhouse for $150,000. The dream restarted.
To polish it up, Leisah and Monica cleaned and painted the interior to bring in more light and drama to the space.
They also added new septic, plumbing and electricity, fixed up the bathroom and installed a commercial style kitchen. On deck: repairs to the stage. “The back of it used to have doors that went out the back, but now it’s just kind of boarded up,” says Monica. Their plan is to make the area more functional and bring in new theater curtains to revive the old-school spirit of the performance space.
So far, Monica and Leisah have hosted small events like a play reading, cocktail fete and benefit parties, and they are planning for more convivial gatherings…but after the winter, says Monica. “It’s not winterized yet and we have learned from experience that it’s bitter cold.”
On the property, there’s also a pool and a small cabin that was formerly used as the daycare center for the kids when the Shelburne Hotel was operating. Right now, there are loose plans to refurbish both of them after work on the playhouse is done.
Leisah and Monica told me that one of the coolest things about restoring the playhouse is finding historic artifacts from bygone times. Coins, ticket stubs, old bottles and signatures on the wooden walls. “We even found an old record under the stage titled Jazz with Luigi,” says Leisah.
What other special recollections of the past are waiting to be discovered? Only time will tell.
Thank you Monica and Leisah for saving this cheap old playhouse! Give them a follow @shelburneplayhouse then check on the cheap old listing that still lives rent-free in your head…
Because hey, you just never know.
Reviving a forgotten space can bring back more than beauty—it can bring back the magic of the past. Our Cheap Old Houses book is filled with inspiring stories just like this one. Get ready to dream big.
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