Mather Inn

Mather Inn
Location 107 Canda St., Ishpeming, Michigan
Coordinates 46°29′30″N 87°40′5″W / 46.49167°N 87.66806°W / 46.49167; -87.66806Coordinates: 46°29′30″N 87°40′5″W / 46.49167°N 87.66806°W / 46.49167; -87.66806
Built 1931
Architect James H. Ritchie, Warren H. Manning
Architectural style Colonial Revival, Georgian revival vernacular
NRHP Reference # 78001505[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP December 20, 1978
Designated MSHS June 18, 1976[2]

The Mather Inn is a hotel in Ishpeming, Michigan. The inn served as housing for the cast of the classic 1959 movie Anatomy of a Murder, and was where Duke Ellington composed the movie's score.[3][4][5] It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976[2] and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[1]

History

In 1875, Robert Nelson, the founder of Ishpeming, built a hotel in the city known as the Barnum House.[6] Four years later, the Barnum House burned, and Nelson replaced it with another structure he called the Nelson House.[6] The Nelson House stood until 1928, when it too burned. The loss of Ishpeming's finest hotel affected the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, which now had no place to house important guests.[2]

Realizing the benefit of having a first-class hotel, William G. Mather, Cleveland-Cliffs president, financed the construction of the Mather Inn as a replacement.[2] Mather hired Boston architect James H. Ritchie to design the building and turned to Warren H. Manning, a longtime associate, to design the grounds.[2] The hotel is considered to be an excellent example of the work of both men.[2]

The Mather Inn opened in 1932, and served the community for decades.[6] In 1959, it served as lodging for the cast of the classic movie Anatomy of a Murder.[6] In the mid-1980s, the Mather Inn Preservation Society was created to sustain it.[6] However, the inn fell on hard times, and in 1987 it was closed and sold.[6]

The inn was vacant for many years, but in 2004 renovations to the building were started.[7] As of 2009, the inn is privately owned and is undergoing a renovation to turn it into luxury residences and office suites.[6][8] As of 2014, the old boiler room and adjacent storage area have been converted into a brewery named Cognition Brewing Company. The brewery plans to serve its beer out of the old pub.[9]

Description

The Mather Inn is a four-story rectangular building, constructed of concrete and steel with a brick facing.[2] The front facade is divided into three bays, with a two-story portico sheltering the entrance in the center bay.[2] The varied fenestration on the front, including bay windows flanking the center entrance and dormers on the hipped roof, make the facade architecturally interesting.[2]

The public areas of the interior are panelled in pine,[2] and include a sunken dining room and men's clubroom.[6] There are forty-seven guest rooms, including three furnished apartments. On the exterior, the grounds contain uniform terraced gardens and a huge boulder rock garden.[2] The inn is still substantially similar to its original state, having undergone few alterations.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Mather Inn from the state of Michigan, retrieved 12/22/09
  3. ↑ Anatomy of a Murder Ishpeming Walking Tour, Peter White Public Library, Marquette.
  4. ↑ John Monaghan, "The movie that put Ishpeming on the map," Detroit Free Press, January 20, 2009
  5. ↑ Dennis McCann, "Marquette, Michigan remembers 'Anatomy of a Murder,'" Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Nov. 7, 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 About the Mather Inn, retrieved 12/22/09
  7. ↑ Johanna Boyle, "Mather Inn renovation moving along," The Mining Journal, November 19, 2008
  8. ↑ Johanna Boyle, "Ishpeming stops work on Mather renovation," The Mining Journal, October 8, 2009
  9. ↑ "Former Mather Inn Hotel taproom will host the new Cognition Brewing Company in Ishpeming," The Mining Journal, August 17, 2014
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