Manufacturer: Syracuse China
User: Lake Placid Club – New York
Date of plate: 1944
Date of reproduction platter: 1993
Notes: From Wikipedia: "The Lake Placid Club was a social and recreation club founded 1895, in a hotel on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York, under Melvil Dewey's leadership and according to his ideals. It was instrumental in Lake Placid's development as an internationally known resort."
The club "built a winter clubhouse in 1907, that allowed year-round visits to Lake Placid. By 1923, the Club had grown to 9,600 acres, with 356 buildings (including 110 residences), its own theatre (seating capacity 1,200), library, boathouses, 21 tennis courts, seven golf courses, farms, a staff of 1,100, a fire department, and even a school, today known as Northwood School."
The Winter Olympics were held at Lake Placid in 1932, mainly because of the Club's facilities and profile. Without them, Lake Placid would not have qualified to host the Games.
"For most of its existence the Lake Placid Club excluded Jews and other, less powerful groups. A Lake Placid circular explained, "No one will be received as a member or guest against whom there is physical, moral, social or race objection, or who would be unwelcome to even a small minority … This invariable rule is rigidly enforced."
"In 1954, a New York Times article criticized the Club for its refusal to admit Blacks and Jews. The B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation League filed a complaint about the Club. The dispute lasted several years, until the League decided to drop the charges of discrimination in 1959. Representatives of the Club claimed that its members were religiously motivated and therefore wished to vacation as Christians among Christians in order to "strengthen their appreciation of and attachment to Christianity." Since its founding, the Club had been very strict about membership, avoiding fashionable vacationers, not serving alcohol in the dining room, and only accepting guests who came recommended by other members. The criteria for membership remained intact until 1976."
"Membership declined steadily as vacationing trends among the wealthy changed. Air travel and time constraints meant that fewer families spent the entire season at the Club. In 1977, only 471 families renewed their membership, compared to 711 the previous year. The Club closed soon after serving as headquarters for the International Olympic Committee during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. During the 1990s the Club was a frequent target for arson and vandalism. Its last main buildings were demolished in January 2002, but some of the cottages, renovated, remain, along with the golf course."
White body vitrified china plate with a narrow green band on the outer edge of the rim. Underneath is a thinner reddish-brown band that at the top of the plate crosses over and becomes a bough of pine with green needles and reddish-brown pinecones. Between the two pine boughs are the letters "LPC" in a font that appears to be wooden branches.
Member Jack Lalonde noted that Syracuse China made reproductions of the Lake Placid Club china that were sold at the Adirondack Store in Lake Placid. See the platter photos above.
Sources:
Wikipedia
Cardcow.com
For additional info:
Lake Placid Club 2 by Syracuse China
Contributors:
Plate and platter photos: Stephanie Michaels-Carr and Quincy Kirsch
Author: Ed Phillips