Located the end of the slope, the Mountain Lodge overlooks former Camp King. Of all the remaining buildings since the departure of the U.S. Army, the lodge is the only one without a purpose.
All others are used either as residences or e.g., today’s Kinderhaus, which serves as a child-care center, also has a long history:
1922 Villa Haus am Wald (House on the edge of the woods), residence
1933 Sports facility for Frankfurt University
1938 (after renovation) conference center for the Gau settler school (Gau: close to the English term shire; The administrative use of the term stood for subdivision during the period of Nazi Germany in 1933–1945)
1939 Kommandant’s Office of the Auswertestelle West (Intelligence and Evaluation Center West)
1945 Conference room and work place for the Historical Division, Name: House Florida
1950 Used for conferences, meetings, community hall, among others. Name: House 997
Kinderhaus
Walking by there today, on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I even saw a children’s party being set up in the garden behind.
This is in sharp contrast to the Mountain Lodge, which started out as an agricultural school (1939), then was later converted to Officers’ Club (or Mountain Lodge) by the Americans.
The Mountain Lodge had been purchased by a private investor in June 2010 (you can read more about this on Officers’ Club at Camp King finds Investor), but there are no repairs to be seen. As a matter of fact, it looks worse every year.
The city has added a sign right next to the Mountain Lodge to remind pedestrians to pay attention:
Attention! No snow removal service, damaged paths, enter at your own risk
Achtung!
Another photo update below showing the current idle state. This is mostly due to its well-off German neighbors, who petition any kind of development, on behalf of their privacy.
Building permits were issued for housing in close proximity, for the sake of profit.
Mountain Lodge in Camp King July 2012
This report states renovation should be completed by 2013. Unfortunately, it looks as if it hasn’t even started yet.
The changes to the “Bebauungsplan” for the Mountain Lodge were approved by the town council in May of this year, so maybe things will start moving forward now.
Although I’m not sure that you’re going to like the result!
You are probably right…
Anything too modern in regards to structural changes does not appeal to me.