Tea Room Pine Tree Point was an Adirondack Great Camp on Upper St. Regis Lake that was built in 1890 for H. McKay Twombly. It was sold in 1903 to William Vanderbilt, a director of the New York Central Railroad for 61 years. Vanderbilt maintained residences in New York City at 450 Fifth Avenue, Newport ("Point Rough Point"), and Bar Harbor ("Sonogee").
Vanderbilt hired Japanese artisans from the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, held in Buffalo to construct Japanese-style buildings, remodel existing buildings, including a pagoda with an elaborate spiral staircase, and a Japanese cottage. Servants were required to wear Japanese clothing while waiting on guests; some of the servants were mortified.
In the early 1900s, Herbert L. Pratt purchased Pine Tree Point from Vanderbilt. Pratt was the son of Standard oil industrialist Charles Pratt, and like his father before him, was a leading figure in the US oil industry and head of Standard Oil Company of New York from 1923. This company eventually became Mobil.1
Main Lodge 
Dock
Pine Tree Point
A boathouse on the north side of the point
Malone Farmer, June 17, 1903
In the H. McK. Twombly camp on the Upper St. Regis Lake, purchased by F. W. Vanderbilt a year ago, have been erected three Japanese buildings for sleeping apartments. The work is being dose by Japanese carpenters, and will be finished for the coming of the Vanderbilts in July.
Sources
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Gilborn, Craig. Adirondack Camps: Homes Away from Home, 1850-1950. Blue Mountain Lake, NY: Adirondack Museum; Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000.
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Footnotes
1. This article appeared originally on "Wikipedia" as Pine Tree Point; its edit history there reflects its authorship. It is licensed under the GDFL.
