Marisa Scheinfeld is a Jewish-American photographer and author whose work centers on landscape, memory, and history. Born in Brooklyn and raised in the Catskills, she brings a personal connection to the region she so often documents. Marisa holds degrees from SUNY Albany and San Diego State University, and her photographs have appeared in National Geographic, The New York Times, Forbes, and many other publications. Her work is also part of several major collections, including the Library of Congress and the Center for Jewish History.
In 2016, she released her first book, The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland, a striking visual exploration of the Catskills’ once-thriving resort culture. Continuing this work, she co-founded the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project in 2022.
We recently caught up with Marisa to talk about her creative process, what draws her to the Catskills, and how photography can be a powerful tool for storytelling and remembrance.
How did you get started in photography? Tell me a little bit about your background.
I took my first photography class in high school at age 15 and was hooked immediately. I loved the sense of exploration and adventure the medium provided. During college I briefly attended the School of Visual Arts before transferring to SUNY Albany where I received my BFA in Photography. Some time later I was an intern at International Center of Photography, before moving to San Diego, CA for 8 years. During my time on the west coast I worked at the Museum of Photographic Arts and later, attended SDSU where I received my MFA in 2012.
What drew you to the history of the Borscht Belt?
I grew up in the Borscht Belt. My family has roots in the region dating back to the 1930s with my great grandparents. From what I have learned, been told, and experienced myself, the story of the Borscht Belt has always been one I feel is deserving of being told.
Indoor Pool #2, Grossinger's Catskill Resort and Hotel, Liberty, NY (Photo: Marisa Scheinfeld)
Is there a particular story or piece of history that really stood out to you as you were researching/writing?
Having grown up in the region I knew of its immensity - from being a vacationland of over 500 hotels, 50,000 bungalows and 1,000 rooming houses to its contribution to American culture, comedy, music and entertainment (and more) however until I never knew why it was created — due to antisemitism - and from the exclusion of Jews in American society. Particularly striking was the discovery of a 1919 guide book created by the Jewish Farmers Almanac entitled “Hotels and Boarding Houses Where Jews are Welcome.” In the 1950’s, the Jewish Farmers Almanac became a model for the Green Book, a similar guidebook used by the African American community.
Words like “decaying”, “deserted”, and “forgotten” are often used to describe what’s left of the Borscht Belt, but you also say that it’s “full of life and activity”. How can one find the “life” in these spots?
I think the Borscht Belt is always changing – morphing, mutating, shifting - and it is filled with layers and layers of stories and histories. From a farm, to a boarding house, to a hotel, being sold to another, then renamed, later closed, left to ruin, and later renovated and reopened as an ashram (meditation center) is a very interesting trajectory of history.. Another hotel opens, stays so for 50 years to see a similar fate of closing, and then is reinvented by a different community (ie: the Orthodox Jewish community), or group (rehabilitation center). One former hotel is even a prison. Others hotels are condominium communities, one which my friends and I at the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project will be screening a film in on July 17 (inside its iconic and intact nightclub). I used to be stunted at people saying there is nothing left of the Borscht Belt. That is, until I learned to say – well, you’re not looking.
Borscht Belt Historical Marker sign in Sullivan County
Can you tell me about The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project?
The Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project is a group of artists and historians dedicated to celebrating and cementing the history of the era via a large-scale immersive historic marker trail and series of curated arts and cultural events. We have 9 historic markers in the ground and will expand to 15 with dedications beginning this May and running through the fall! Visit our website at www.maytheborschtbewithyou.org to learn more!
What lesson, if any, can we learn today from these almost forgotten sites?
“Not to know the past is to diminish the future.” – Martin Boris
Enjoyed this Q&A? Join us for a Reading and Talk with Marisa Scheinfeld on May 15th at 6pm in the Reher Center Gallery! Visit rehercenter.org/events to learn more.
