By Lily Goldberg

Notable visitors of yore—including Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, actress Lillian Russell, and John D. Rockefeller Sr.—often stayed at the Aspinwall Hotel in Lenox. Built in 1902 by lawyer, businessman, and Civil War officer Thomas H. Hubbard, the spacious property held Gilded Age dance parties in its vast ballroom; its rooms could sleep up to 400 guests. In the early 1930s, the hotel burned down and was never rebuilt. But visitors to Lenox can still visit the hotel’s former driveway and trails: In 1956, the land was sold to the town for just $12,000, and the former site is known today as Kennedy Park.