Interlochen Michigan to demolish former Epstein lake lodge

The Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan will demolish a lakeside lodge that was once named for the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The institution’s board of trustees approved the plan this week, seeking to sever its remaining physical ties to Epstein, who attended the prestigious summer arts camp as a teenager and later became a donor.

The building, known as the Green Lake Lodge, was originally named the Jeffrey E. Epstein Scholarship Lodge. The school removed his name following his first criminal conviction in 2008. In a statement, Interlochen said the lodge has, over time, come to carry associations that are not reflective of who we are as an institution or the values we strive to uphold. After careful consideration, the Board determined that removing this structure in a safe and timely manner is the right step for Interlochen at this time.

Epstein attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in 1967. Between 1990 and 2003, he donated more than $400,000 to the school, including $200,000 earmarked for the lodge's construction. He visited the campus periodically, often accompanied by his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, and stayed in the lodge.