• The Lake Placid Mural Society's first mural, "Southwinds," was dedicated on May 15, 1993
• These were the glory days of Lake Placid where the rich and famous came to play
• This was Dr. Melvil Dewey's "Litl Loj," later named Southwinds

Not long after Dr. Melvil Dewey passed away, his resort, Litl Loj, became known as Southwinds.  By the standards of those times, Dewey's southern resort rivaled his northern resort at Lake Placid, N. Y.

These stylish ladies might have been a lot like Dewey's guests---pretty, proper and primped.  They were having tea on the luxurious patio of handmade Italian tiles.  Their view from the patio was a long sweeping slope to the Lake Placid shoreline.  It must have reminded them a little bit of home.

Southwinds is Lake Placid's first mural.  It's an impression lifted from a postcard found at the Lake Placid Historical Society.  But it was enough to get the mural project started in 1993.

In Southwind's day, fashionable ladies and sophisticated men sipped cocktails or tea and discussed the latest Broadway tunes; their present day counterparts stroll the mural tour and imagine how Lake Placid was back then.

In a word, it was grand for the celebrities from screen and stage and the famous physicians and businessmen basking in Dewey's seasonal sunshine.

In the 1940s, Southwinds swung -- It was party time!  People vied with each other for the privilege of hosting these parties.