Building at the Catskills' famed Grossinger's resort, an inspiration for "Dirty Dancing," burns down in massive fire

The 1987 film "Dirty Dancing" has been revered for its iconic Catskills setting in the Catskills. On Tuesday night, a building at the famed New York resort that once hosted idyllic family summers and served as inspiration for the film's backdrop burned down. 

The Liberty, New York, fire department said Wednesday that a three-and-a-half-story building at Grossinger's Catskill resort had caught on fire overnight. The fire was so massive, they said, that smoke could be seen "for several miles." 

Firefighters had a difficult time accessing the blazing structure, as the long-vacant property was overgrown and there were concrete barriers on the road. They had to use more than 1,000 feet of hose and it took "several hours" to get the fire under control, they said in a Facebook post.