300 N SHORE DR | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

Property Record

300 N SHORE DR

Architecture and History Inventory
300 N SHORE DR | Property Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Osthoff's Hotel and Casino
Other Name:Camp Harand (1955-1989); Osthoff Resort
Contributing:
Reference Number:135784
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):300 N SHORE DR
County:Sheboygan
City:Elkhart Lake
Township/Village:
Unincorporated Community:
Town:
Range:
Direction:
Section:
Quarter Section:
Quarter/Quarter Section:
PROPERTY FEATURES
Year Built:1855
Additions:
Survey Date:1977
Historic Use:lodging-hotel
Architectural Style:Queen Anne
Structural System:
Wall Material:Clapboard
Architect:
Other Buildings On Site:
Demolished?:Yes
Demolished Date:1989
NATIONAL AND STATE REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
National/State Register Listing Name:Not listed
National Register Listing Date:
State Register Listing Date:
NOTES
Additional Information:Demolished in 1989 for the current Osthoff Resort.

The original Osthoff was built in 1886 with accommodations for 120 guests (Laun 2002). Circa 1940, the hotel housed an art deco bar/restaurant called the "Funspot". In 1955 the resort was sold to Sulie and Pearl Harand, sisters who were both actresses living in Chicago, and their husbands Byron Friedman and Sam Gaffin. There they opened the Harand Camp of the Theatre Arts, specializing in "teaching drama, song interpretation and ballet." At the close of each camp season, a patch of fresh cement was poured in a walkway on the grounds and all the children left their handprints and etched their names. In 1989, Harand Camp moved to Beaver Dam and then in 2005 to Carthage College in Kenosha, where it still operates today.

The property and its buildings were sold to the Dairyland Investors Group who demolished the buildings and developed the current Osthoff Resort complex. A few of the handprinted cement slabs remain along the walkway to the lake.
Bibliographic References:Historic Sheboygan Co. Laun, Peter. A Photographic History of Elkhart Lake. Elkhart Lake Historical Society, 2002.
RECORD LOCATION
Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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