(upbeat mellow music) - [Jason] Welcome to Lake Lure, North Carolina.

Less than a two hour drive from Charlotte, a small lake town with lots to offer.

- [Jim] Lake Lure has all the lake activities, boating, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing.

There's lots of hiking trails.

For little bitty Lake Lure, we were blessed with a lot of great things.

The town was incorporated in 1927.

We have, I believe by the last census about 1200 year round residents.

4th of July, we probably have 15,000.

- [Jason] Thousands of visitors enjoying all this community has to offer from time on the water, relaxing on the town beach or taking time to smell the flowers at the flowering bridge.

But prior to the 1920s, the lake and other amenities didn't exist.

Geographically, the area was called the Hickory Nut Gorge with a broad river cutting its way past small settlements.

- [Jim] The Morse family bought Chimney Rock at the turner of the last century and created the Chimney Rock Park.

- [Jason] But the family wasn't done there.

According to an early sales flyer for developing the lake, Dr. LB Morse envisioned damning the broad river and creating a tourist destination.

Work on the dam that forms Lake Lure commenced in 1925.

Over the next few years as construction continued developers got to work on other key parts for the budding town.

- The Lake Lure Inn, the Lake Lure administration building adjacent to the inn, it started out with quite a bang.

And then like so many other businesses, hotels, and other enterprises across the country.

After black Tuesday and October 29th, 1929, we saw breadlines rather than lines for tourist attractions.

- [Jason] The Great Depression lasted through most of the 1930s and while development of Lake Lure slowed, the town still attracted some notable visitors, many of whom stayed at the elegant Lake Lure Inn.

- [George] F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda were guests here.

Emily Post, Calvin Coolidge.

And of course, probably the most notable of the guests of the hotel was Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Following the 1940s, the hotel began to go through a series of ownership.

Some for better, some not so much.

- [Jason] By the early two thousands, the Inn, now well past its prime, was put up for sale.

It just so happened at about the same time, a couple with a passion for old buildings and antiques was in the market.

- We got a call from a realtor friend who told us about this, and George called and we talked with the realtor here and we said, "Well, we can't, we have to go out to Oregon."

He said, "No, you need to come here first", which we did.

And we knew right off the bat, a ton of things that could be done.

- In 2004, the hotel was not enjoying great popularity.

The whole of it had fallen into some fairly substantial disrepair.

- [Jason] The building in all its unique issues didn't scare away the Wittmers, they were all in.

- [George] We closed the hotel for the first time for many years, and renovated top to bottom, inside and out, electrical, plumbing, furnishings, and the like.

- [Jason] Throughout the years, various movies have been filmed around Lake Lure.

One in particular has a unique connection to the Inn itself.

- When Lionsgate filmed company discovered Lake Lure and decided to film a great portion of the movie "Dirty Dancing" here they also reserved the Lake Lure Inn for their cast and crew.

In fact, still remaining in the Lake Lure Inn is the Jennifer Grey Suite and the Patrick Swayze Suite.

We have some photographs of the after parties that occurred here.

- [Jason] Behind the inn, you'll find Roosevelt Hall, normally used for wedding receptions and family reunions.

But if these floors could talk... - That space was also used during the filming of "Dirty Dancing" for Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey to practice their dances, and even we understand their lift was actually practiced in there on the hardwood floor.

I guess he didn't drop her very often.

(vibrant upbeat music) - [Speaker] How are you today?

- [Jason] A trip to Lake Lure almost isn't complete without a bit of time on the water.

- Those of you on the front row, there's always the slim possibility you can get wet, water samples are always free.

- [Jason] These leisurely Lake cruises take about an hour and while out on the water tour guides share interesting facts in history of the 700 plus acre lake.

- The elevation of the lake at full pond is about 990 feet above sea level, that's close to what we're at now.

- [Jason] The Lake Lure Beach opens each summer for Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.

During those summer months it attracts some 30,000 beach goers just as it has for nearly a century.

Lake Lures charm attracts many to its shore for recreation, but for the residents in the community, it means so much more.

- When you live in paradise, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what's best.

I mean, the Lake Lure and a lot of communities can say this, but we have just a lot of great people, and I joke with people, a lot of people figure out what they're good at and go to where they can do it.

Early on in my life, I figured out where I wanted to be and just figured out how to stay.

- [Jason] So next time you venture out for a day trip or weekend adventure, perhaps a visit to Lake Lure and the surrounding area might just be what you're looking for.

A community built on big dreams to create a major resort town, then surviving one of the largest economic downturns in our nation's history.

It's a bit smaller than originally planned, but maybe it's just right.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Jason Terzis reporting.