US arts camp to demolish lodge linked to Jeffrey Epstein

The Interlochen Center for the Arts, a renowned summer arts camp and boarding school in Michigan, has approved plans to demolish the Green Lake Lodge. This structure was formerly known as the Jeffrey E Epstein Scholarship Lodge until the school severed ties and removed all references to the late sex offender after his initial conviction in 2008.

Epstein, who attended Interlochen as a teenager in 1967, had donated over $400,000 to the school between 1990 and 2003. A significant portion of this, $200,000, funded the lodge's construction. Interlochen stated that the lodge had "come to carry associations that are not reflective of who we are as an institution or the values we strive to uphold." The board concluded that removing the structure was the appropriate step.

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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.

Interlochen, an institution that has nurtured talents like Grammy winners Chappell Roan and Norah Jones, and Oscar winner Da’Vine Joy Randolph, is facing scrutiny. At least two of Epstein's accusers have claimed they met him at Interlochen in the 1990s. The school has invited these women to speak with an independent investigator as part of an external review into alleged historical misconduct.

While internal reviews, particularly after Epstein's 2019 arrest, found no records of misconduct at Interlochen involving him, the school acknowledges his periodic visits, often accompanied by Ghislaine Maxwell. Correspondence released by the Justice Department indicates Epstein directed tuition payments for at least one student from his donations and even flew violinist Itzhak Perlman to the camp on his private jet. Epstein died by suicide in federal jail in August 2019, awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year sentence for her role in recruiting underage victims for Epstein.

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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.