The Lounge

Moving through the curtained doors, you enter the lounge, which was in bad shape in September 2019. With rainwater coming in through the roof in more than a dozen places, and radiator water buckling the floor when pipes froze and burst the previous winter, it was a sorry mess.

After a year of renovations, the room has been drained, dried and rebuilt from the ground up. Trying to imagine how Albert might have envisioned it, it is decorated in a Mid-century Modern style, with a starry ceiling, a geometric bar front, and a cool comfortable vibe. There is a small stage to host the jazz and folk artists who are such an integral part of the music scene in Woodstock.

Our Big Bears on the pillars—Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan, Todd Rundgren and Paul Butterfield—now face new Bears—the women of Woodstock—in fresh contemporary portraits taken by Woodstock photographer Catherine Sebastian.