HOTEL BRESLIN & ALAMAC HOTEL AT MOUNT ARLINGTON, NJ

Hotel Breslin, circa 1903, hand colored postcard
 
The era of Lake Hopatcong as a summer resort began in 1882 as the Jersey Central RR began passenger excursion trains on their new line that reached the lake at Nolan's Point, on the east shore, about a mile north of today's Mount Arlington. The Lackawanna RR already had a line that went from Newark, thru Morristown, Dover and up to Hackettstown, and had a simple siding "stop" at Landing, at the southern end of the lake, and quickly added a station there to share in the tourist boom and two major rail lines competed to serve the lake.

Arriving passengers from the cities found a quickly growing number of amusements & activities at Nolans Point to busy themselves. New pavilions there offered a variety of restaurants, photo parlors, beach bathing and boat rides, and that's where the story of Mount Arlington really begins!

When the boom started, there were just small hotels at the Lake. Soon, several others were quickly built, and they went up on every part of the lake shoreline. Because early roads at the Lake were few and of poor quality, the main way of transportation was by boat. New steamboat companies met arriving rail passengers at the trains, either at the Lakawanna station in Landing,  or the Jersey Central RR in Nolan's Point, and took them to all parts of the Lake. One dock was located at Mount Arlington, and that's where some wealthy investors got the idea for a new luxury resort hotel that catered to well-heeled vacationers, in contrast to the masses who stayed at the day attractions at Nolan's Point. The resort that they built in 1887 was called the HOTEL BRESLIN.

Once the BRESLIN went up, it spurred more development. Some early visitors camped at the Lake on wooden platforms. Wealthy individuals were building Victorian "cottages" (that would be mansions to you & me) around the Breslin and a substantial millionaire's community sprang up in Mount Arlington.

 
Hotel Breslin, circa 1905
 
 
The New Jersey Pharmaceutical Association, conference at Hotel Breslin, circa 1912
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mount arlington nj history breslin hotel
View from the Breslin Hotel looking northwest over Lake Hopatcong, Halsey Island at top center, Chestnut Point is the spit of land to the right
 
Seen in the photo above, Chestnut Point is the spit of land, Halsey Island behind, and the Nolan's Point Ice House is seen at far right
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Around 1910 the Hotel was extensively renovated and a new wing was added, and by 1913 ads like the one to the left advertised 300 rooms.

Each room now had hot & cold running water, and electric power was available in most rooms.

Part of the upgrade was a shift in name, now the "New Hotel Breslin".

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In 1918 the Hotel was sold to the Latz family and they undertook more renovations, adding facilities for outdoor recreation, aiming at a more middle-class clientele. As seen below, they re-named it
'Alamac in the Mountains'.

During WW2 the hotel was turned into lodging for the military. The hotel was under renovation when it caught fire in 1948 and was destroyed.
 

Alamac in the Mountains, circa 1930
 

Alamac in the Mountains, circa 1928
 
In recent years, new shopping centers and residential communities in the southern end of Mount Arlington have greatly added to the population.
 
We recommend a trip to the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum at the State Park to learn more about our history.
Their website is  www.LakeHopatcongHistory.com
 

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Updated December 2022. This page is a service of MountArlington.org, a privately owned website.  
A link to the "official" Mount Arlington NJ town website can be found above on this "Links" page.