By Rob Jennings | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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A postcard from the former Playboy Club in Vernon (photo courtesy of Sussex County Historian Wayne McCabe)

It was once a pleasure palace for celebrities and the wealthy, nestled away from prying eyes in rural northwestern N.J.

Today, the late Hugh Hefner's 'Playboy Club' in Vernon is unrecognizable from its 1970s heyday, where the in-crowd roamed the grounds and reveled in the attention of costumed waitresses known as 'Playboy Bunnies."

The Sussex County Sheriff's Office is planning to evict the remaining low-income residents on April 30, nineteen months ago after Vernon Township began enforcing a 1999 municipal ordinance barring anyone from staying more than 30 days in the eight-story building.

Some had been living in the building, more recently known as the Legends Resort and Country Club, for a decade or longer. But Vernon Mayor Harry Shortway described the tenants last fall as living in "squalor" and said he feared for their safety.

Under an agreement reached in February, all agreed to depart by April 9 and were to be provided with relocation assistance of $1,500 per unit.

However, 14 units remained occupied after the deadline passed, according to an attorney for the building's owner, and a Superior Court judge signed off on forcibly removing whoever is left April 30.

The vast majority of the 600 or so rooms are no longer in use, including the suite once occupied by Hefner, founder of Playboy Magazine, who died last September at age 91.

The contrast between then, and now, could not be more stark. Here's a look at the site's history:

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The former Playboy Club in Vernon, Oct. 24, 2017 (Jerry McCrea / For NJ Advance Media)

A $30 million project

In 1971, one year before President Nixon won a second term, Playboy Enterprises Inc. finished construction of an eight-story, 617-room building, accessible by a half-mile private road leading from Route 517 and about four miles from the New York border.

It was the latest Playboy Club in the empire of Hugh Hefner, then in his mid-40s, the co-founder of Playboy Magazine. Launched in 1953, the magazine featured nude and nearly naked female models, unheard of at the time for a mainstream publication, and made Hefner an international business success.

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A strong start ...

A video posted to YouTube in 2011 uses nearly three minutes of footage from a 1972 awards presentation, made not long after the Playboy Club opened.

It shows the Playboy Bunnies serving drinks around an outdoor pool, couples riding a horse and golfing, men in suits making small talk and a conference center.

The unidentified narrator asserts that the Playboy Club is transforming Sussex County from nowhere land into a bustling business hub.

The resort, in its first year, reportedly draws 15,000 for conventions and trade shows, spends $2.4 million on supplies and services, and employs 825.

"The right industry arrived in the right place, at the right time," the narrator says in conclusion.

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An ad touting the Playboy Club (Courtesy of Vernon Township Historical Society)

... And then it was over

The Playboy Club was banking on gambling becoming legal in the area, but when that didn't happen, Hefner and his bunnies departed in the early 1980s.

Memorabilia from its decade-long run abounds on the Internet, such as the metal keys presented for club access.

A 1972 magazine ad featuring singer/actress Ann-Margret performing in Vernon is available on Amazon for $7.

"Exciting entertainment in the Playmate Bar. Superstars in the Penthouse ... the Great Gorge Playboy Club-Hotel. There's no place quite like it," the ad reads.

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Two decades later, a burst of nostalgia

Johnny Moretti, who says he was a waiter and dining room manager at the Playboy Club, made a video of his return in 2001, when the building was less active than before but still functioning as a hotel.

"Oh, look, they have guests," he says as a woman and man carrying bags enter through a revolving door.

Visiting the former cabaret room, Moretti describes seeing a boxing match there. He doesn't say who was fighting, but asserts that the Spinks brothers — Michael and Leon Spinks — were present, along with Ernie Shavers and famed broadcaster Howard Cosell.

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File photo of Superior Court in Newton (Robert Sciarrino / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

A brawl ends in death

In 2008, Jacob Gentry was charged with murder after killing David Haulmark during a brawl outside the former Playboy Club, where both had at varying times rented rooms.

Gentry said he was acting in self-defense, but was convicted of first-degree aggravated manslaughter and sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.

Four years later, an appellate court overturned his conviction, stating the jury was not properly instructed on a justification defense.

It noted that Haulmark was about 80 pounds heavier than Gentry, and cited defense testimony that Haulmark had harassed and acted aggressively toward Gentry and others.

Gentry was acquitted at his second trial in February 2016.

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By 2011, crickets ....

Moretti returned in April 2011 and encountered a dramatically changed, barren landscape.

His second video shows him driving up to where there used to be valet parking, getting out of his car and looking through the same swinging doors shown at the end of his 2001 video. The lobby is unoccupied.

"I'm not sure I can get in," he says.

Instead, he took viewers on a tour of the once-sterling outdoor facilities.

His camera showed outdoor tennis courts no longer in use. The pool from 1972 is covered over. He peers through a window at an unoccupied fitness center.

Throughout, no one else appears.

Sounding somewhat downcast, he wound up his video, explaining, "That's all I have left on my battery.

His video ends with a posted message — "falling apart."

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... But the memories remain

The "Great Gorge Playboy Club Memories" page on Facebook is not open to the public, but a video made in 2015 shows highlights.'

It features a glass autographed by the late artist LeRoy Neiman, a Playboy Club "executive key" valid through November 1977, a photo of two Playboy Bunnies — one in red, the other in pink — at a counter, and another photo of Ann-Margret.

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Goodbye Hugh. I worked for him for 5 years at the Playboy club here in Vernon and was paid quite well! He was a good... Posted by Eileen Opfer on Thursday, September 28, 2017

Reflecting on Hefner

Eileen Opfer, who worked as a banquet waitress for five years, shared her experiences on Facebook after Hefner died at age 91 on Sept. 27.

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Vernon Mayor Harry Shortway and the township's zoning officer, Alison Larocca, in municipal court in Vernon, Oct. 24, 2017 (Jerry McCrea / For NJ Advance Media)

What's next?

Shortly, who became Vernon's mayor in January 2016, said the building structurally is sound and has the potential to be revamped for a different use -- perhaps as a hotel, given its proximity to a golf course and the Mountain Creek ski resort.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook

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Here are some other stories about Playboy

-- Hugh Hefner, Playboy founder, dead at 91

-- Sexy series 'The Playboy Club' channels 'Mad Men'

-- Super Bowl 2014: The Playboy Party at the Bud Light Hotel

-- Models to N.J. strip club: Stop using our photos to hawk your nude bar