From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Cee-der Cabin Inn + Patsy Ann Gift Shop, Lake Waramaug, New Preston, Conn.
Pictured is a restaurant and guest house at the south end outlet of Lake Waramaug. This image is part of a series made by one of the three Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company photographers assigned to cover New England or upstate New York. The quest for images that would be saleable as postcards resulted in the documentation of small towns and small town life at the turn of the 20th century. As the photos were shot, the glass plates were sent back to Belfast, Maine, and processed into postcards at the printing plant on High Street. This rustic guest house/restaurant/gift shop complex was one of many developed in scenic area of New England, to attract the business of weekend and summer folk enjoying a drive or vacation. The Lake Waramaug area had been drawing vacationers arriving by train at New Preston station since the 1860s. The advent of the automobile spurred the improvement of the road encircling the lake and spawned this kind of roadside attraction. Route 47 is not yet paved. Signs advertise "Dance + Dine/ Guest Rooms/ Luncheons/ Sandwiches/ Chicken Dinners/ Steak/ Candy/ Soda". The site is now part of the Washington Town Beach.
