Clinton Community College unveils newly refurbished building

PLATTSBURGH | Hotel Champlain opened for the first time in 1890 with 500 rooms and 11 cottages, three of which are still standing today. A 500-foot beach, a large boathouse capable of holding 52 boats, and the golf course made the hotel a very attractive summertime retreat. The property even had its own electrical power plant and spring water pumping station. "The one thing that we kept coming back to was that Hotel Champlain was an important place to be. It was the place to be in the summer and it was important to this community because it provided a lot of jobs, it provided a lot of revenue, but it was also a really cool place to hang out back in the day," said Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Carey Goyette. Hotel Champlain didn't just attract community members though, it also attracted social elites. "So the guests included social elites of the time like the Rockefellers, and silent film stars, and also include foreign dignitaries- the president of Cuba even stayed here. And then of course we had our own state and countries political elite including five, not four, we actually discovered a fifth, five United States presidents: Cleveland, McKinley, Taft, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR," Goyette stated. Unfortunately, a fire occurred May 25, 1910- it is speculated that the fire was caused by squirrels chewing through electrical wires. Hotel Champlain was completely burnt down. It was rebuilt, and July 11, 1911, a smaller Hotel Champlain reopened, this time with only 200 guest rooms, and still sits in its original location to this day, although the actual hotel closed in 1951. The property and building were sold to the Society of Jesus who converted the building into a Jesuit Seminary which closed in 1966. In October of 1966, due to a state decree, the building was charted as a community college. "It took the county three years to turn this building into a college, and in 1969 we welcomed our first students," stated Clinton Community College Professor Tom Mandeville. Hotel Champlain is now known as the George Moore Academic and Administrative Building. Back in 2017, the process of renovating the building was started and was officially completed with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept. 7. "So this building wasn't just refurbished, this building was designed to be a relife of the initial building that was here and part of that is going to be part of the educational learning process that our students coming on this campus are going to be able to [be] involved in," Clinton Community College Chair of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee David Favro said. Erin Allison, an associate/building designer with AES Northeast, said on the refurbishment of the building, "A lot of upgrades are going to help with energy efficiency, operational costs, and also comfort of the occupants as well as continue to preserve and extend the life of this beautiful historic building." All 464 windows and shades were replaced, all exterior doors were replaced, access control hardware was added to all main entrance doors, the loading dock in the back was reconstructed, a receiving room was added, the northwest entrance stairs were replaced, new exterior lighting was installed, and asbestos abatement was performed on the flooring of the third and fourth floors. These are just some of the upgrades the building has undergone. "We don't want to come up here to a new building. We don't want a new building. We want all the new amenities. We want to know that all the technology, everything that is hidden away is up to par with any other campus, but we want to maintain the beauty that this old girl on the hill [has]," Favro concluded. Clinton Community College President Dr. John Kowal concluded his remarks with, "It has been and continues to be a wonderful partnership." The strength of the partnership between the county, local officials, and local agencies really shines through in the newly refurbished George Moore building that stands just as tall and proud as Hotel Champlain once did.

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Clinton Community College unveils newly refurbished building

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