Goodbye Cedars Hotel

Reports from Cedar Point are that the demolition of the former Cedars Hotel, used as employee housing for many years, has begun.

In other words, 6 guys stood outside one of the walls and blew really hard...toppling the structure.

But seriously, this should have been done a long time ago. Yes, I get that there are kids who stayed there who didn't care one way or the other but that place was a disaster. As a seasonal employee I had the rare opportunity to live at Breakers (because I was an Accommodations employee). Had I arrived and been shown a room at the Cedars I would have done what a lot of my seasonals did. Once I was full time I had many instances when employees arrived for their first days, checked in at HR, headed over to Cedars...and then got in their cars and went home.

Sometimes I got wind of that and was able to get them into some of the Breakers dorms...which were better...but still not great. I'd be curious to know how many other departments lost seasonals over the years for the same reason.

I heard rumors (though admittedly never heard it from the man himself) that Dick Kinzel used to say if Cedars was good enough for him then it was good enough for any kid. Well, IF Kinzel stayed at Cedars it was sometime in the 70s...nearly 40 years ago. While that structure may have received pain and lightbulbs over the decades it didn't get much else.

How you treat your employees directly impacts the performance of the employees...in my opinion...and when their housing accommodations were substandard that always bothered me.

Good riddance.

The Cedars was a total eyesore and an embarrassment for park. Hard to miss the run down state the Cedars was in when driving around Perimeter Road. I dock my boat on Pier 12 so I got to park and look at it up close and personal all the time.

Now I would like to speculate on what might be developed there but my gut tells me parking since that is needed in that area. There were some huge, beautiful trees there so Im sure they we be a casualty of the demo. That would be a loss if the trees come down but Id be shocked if they survive.

It's very sad to see it go. I made many memories in there the past two summers. It may not have been the best living arrangements, but it was so close to work, I will miss being able to just walk across the park and be where I needed to be within minutes.

You had to live there to truly value and appreciate it. In my opinion, and many others would agree, Cedars was the best employee housing. As sad as it is to see it go, I understand the business and realize that nothing lasts forever. I'm sure whatever will replace it will be well worth it in the long run. Farewell Cedars!

I will be very disappointed if the only thing that replaces Cedars is a parking lot so that a select few people don’t have to walk quite as far to their boat or Famous Dave’s.

I guess Ill respond as Im one of the "select few". Parking is important for both the marina dock holders and Famous Dave's. Parking is very limited for piers 11-14. Now that the marina lot is restricted for marina dock holders only (except for Bay Harbor), it has gotten somewhat better, but probably at the expense of Famous Dave's revenue. When you are paying what we are to dock at Cedar Point, its a reasonable expectation to be able to park somewhat close to your pier. Im younger so I dont mind the walk but when you are having to unload your car full of weekend gear to take to your boat, a closer parking space is appreciated.

Lived in Cedars back in 2005. It was a total dump. Absolutely inexcusable and shameful living conditions, and we had to PAY to live there. I certainly hope that Cedar Point takes better care of its employees these days. Good riddance to Cedars.

I'll be in the neighborhood tomorrow. I may stop near battery park with a zoom lens and see what I can see

That's a pretty bold statement...

Boeckling era stuff. Cyclone ruled the skies, booze was illegal (even on the peninsula) and most arrived by rail or “sail”. If those walls could talk even i’d blush. Bye Hotel Cedars

I realize the property was in disrepair, am certain it had outlived its usefulness, and probably wasn't even capable of being brought up to modern codes.

Yes, progress. But count me as someone who will miss it, and who will take a second look for it when it's not there. (Of course, for all of us who frequent CP, it's always been there.)

I wish years ago it could have been improved and put to good purpose for guests. I think it was an attractive and interesting architecture, and would have liked to have been able to see it "in its heyday" as a hotel (and also would have been interested in what portions of it were the original White House hotel).

And I agree with DSShives, who said above,

There were some huge, beautiful trees there so Im sure they we be a casualty of the demo. That would be a loss if the trees come down

Don't think Jason would be interested in planting any cedar trees there...since there aren't any (or more than 2 or 3) left on the entire peninsula, I think.

I agree with what Alex said above. Having lived in Cedars for 4 summers, I will miss it. Every year during the "pre season" (April-early May) there's people asking housing staff when will Cedars open?? Now I know some of you are asking, "why?? That place is a dump!" Well, yes, it wasn't the best by any means. But it was convenient, I could walk across the street and be in the park. The park was my backyard! It was also much quieter than the commons dorms, where other associates are always loud and getting into fights etc.

As for the comment about Kinzel staying there, I'm sure he did. But, not in the rooms regular associates stayed in. Anyone who's been outside the building surely noticed the separate porches and private entries in the A wing, closest to Famous Dave's. These were "presidential suites" with their own heating, air conditioning, and much nicer furnishings than the rooms associates lived in.

The comments up there about what Kinzel's thoughts were on the subject are not only fodder for the definition of baby boomer stereotype jokes and memes, but also why his overall vision and style was so incredibly outdated years before he actually left.

No Dick actually stayed in one of the regular rooms in the beginning. He was an assistant food service manager under Dan Keller back in the early 1970's. Jack Falfas was a zone manager during that era.

When did Commons open? That's the "default" it seems - and it in fact opens before Cedars. Many ride operators moved to Cedars because it helps them get that little extra bit of sleep (important especially if you're working a flagship ride like SV that finishes its queue late and has to be prepared for opening early.)Also, people who lived there weren't really affected by traffic on the Causeway, which can delay the buses.

Speaking of which... I am a bit concerned about getting employees in. The buses were already pretty stressed during peak time, and this could make that worse. Plus, they can get stuck in traffic on the Causeway, when some shifts line up with the rush to get in. (Breaks for ride operators, for example, generally start about an hour after opening time when some extra crew members come in to relieve the opening crew and start the cycle of breaks. So there are a significant amount of employees that come in around opening time, not to mention those who work rides that open late.)

I'm sure CP is going to try to accommodate this, but it'll be interesting to see how the logistics play out, and whether it might dissuade some returning employees who put up with Cedars for its convenience.

Hey Tony, if your reading this. Can you point one of the web cams on cedars so we can see them for one last time. Good Riddance (Time of your life)

^^On some of the busy days when they have had police stopping people from entering the park through the chausee they appeared to be running the employee buses that direction instead of the causeway.

GigaG said:
When did Commons open?

About 1976, as I recall. If memory serves, Commons is the first apartment building. We just called it the Apartments.

About how many associates lived in Cedars?