I would like to share info about the Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island during the time lead
ing up to the time Mike Huckabee will be attending the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference. Not only am I excited about Mike Huckabee showing up, not only is the island in my district, but it is also in my county of Mackinac.First I will share some history about the Grand Hotel.
Grand Hotel, From the Beginning
1886 Popularity of Mackinac Island grows as a summer getaway, but accommodations are limited. The Michigan Central Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company form the Mackinac Island Hotel Company. Land upon which Grand Hotel will stand is purchased and construction begins.
1887 Grand Hotel opens. The hotel is billed as a summer retreat for vacationers who arrive by lake steamer from Chicago, Erie, Montreal, Detroit, and by rail from across the continent. Rates are $3 to $5 a night.
1890s Grand Hotel's Front Porch - longest in the world - becomes the principal meeting place for all of Mackinac Island, as well as a promenade for the elderly and a "Flirtation Walk" for island romantics. Grand Hotel Manager James "The Comet" Hayes invites an agent of Edison Phonograph to conduct regular demonstrations of the new invention.
Dinner menu from 1890Click to read
Grand Hotel in 1890
1895 Mark Twain lectures in the Grand Hotel Casino. Admission: $1.
1886 Popularity of Mackinac Island grows as a summer getaway, but accommodations are limited. The Michigan Central Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company form the Mackinac Island Hotel Company. Land upon which Grand Hotel will stand is purchased and construction begins.
1887 Grand Hotel opens. The hotel is billed as a summer retreat for vacationers who arrive by lake steamer from Chicago, Erie, Montreal, Detroit, and by rail from across the continent. Rates are $3 to $5 a night.
1890s Grand Hotel's Front Porch - longest in the world - becomes the principal meeting place for all of Mackinac Island, as well as a promenade for the elderly and a "Flirtation Walk" for island romantics. Grand Hotel Manager James "The Comet" Hayes invites an agent of Edison Phonograph to conduct regular demonstrations of the new invention.
Dinner menu from 1890Click to read
Grand Hotel in 1890
1895 Mark Twain lectures in the Grand Hotel Casino. Admission: $1.
Turn of the Century The automobile finds its way onto the island. Grand Hotel supports an isla
nd-wide ban. A law is soon passed, but is not strictly enforced until the 1930s.
1919 Hotel rates are $6 a day per person.
nd-wide ban. A law is soon passed, but is not strictly enforced until the 1930s.1919 Hotel rates are $6 a day per person.
1946 This Time For Keeps starring Jimmy Durante and Esther Williams is filmed on the island and at Grand Hotel.
1957 Michigan Historical Association selects Grand Hotel as a State Historical Building.
1980 Somewhere In Time, filmed at Grand Hotel and starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer is released.
1998 Five new Named Rooms in honor of U.S. first ladies Barbara Bush, Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter and Nancy Reagan are added to the West End of the hotel. Two new two-bedroom suites, the Grand and the Carleton Varney, are also added.
2006 The Gate House, a bar/restaurant just a short walk down Grand Hill is added to the variety of offsite Grand Hotel dining options. Casual dining, live music, with indoor and outdoor seating.
There are more historical facts, if you are interested click on the link above.
It takes 500,000 gallons of water to fill Grand Hotel's swimming pool, named for actress Esther Williams, who starred in the 1949 movie This Time for Keeps, filmed at Grand Hotel.
Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, was filmed at Grand Hotel in 1979. The Somewhere in Time fan club hosts a weekend each October at Grand Hotel.
The Mackinac Bridge, visible from the hotel, was opened in 1957 and joins Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. At 8,614 feet, it is the longest suspension bridge in North America.
Five U.S. Presidents have visited Grand Hotel: Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
Somewhere in Time, starring Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour and Christopher Plummer, was filmed at Grand Hotel in 1979. The Somewhere in Time fan club hosts a weekend each October at Grand Hotel.
The Mackinac Bridge, visible from the hotel, was opened in 1957 and joins Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas. At 8,614 feet, it is the longest suspension bridge in North America.
Five U.S. Presidents have visited Grand Hotel: Harry Truman, John Kennedy, Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
For more fun facts click the link above.
On Mackinac, History Repeats Itself Every Day 
Mackinac Island (MACK-in-awe) became one of the nation's favored summer resorts during the Victorian era. Vacationers arrived in large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit seeking the cooler weather on Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks. To accommodate overnight guests, boat and railroad companies financed the building of Grand Hotel.
Perhaps the most noticeable first impression of Mackinac Island is the absence of automobiles. Mackinac Island is accessible only by boat or plane. Visitors and residents travel by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn carriage. There are only 600 year-round Mackinac Island residents. During the summer, there are more than 500 horses.
To learn more about Mackinac Island, please visit http://www.mackinacisland.org/ and http://www.mackinacparks.com/.
Mackinac Island (MACK-in-awe) became one of the nation's favored summer resorts during the Victorian era. Vacationers arrived in large lake excursion boats from Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit seeking the cooler weather on Mackinac Island. They danced to Strauss' waltzes, listened to Sousa's stirring marches, dined on whitefish and strolled along the broad decks. To accommodate overnight guests, boat and railroad companies financed the building of Grand Hotel.
Perhaps the most noticeable first impression of Mackinac Island is the absence of automobiles. Mackinac Island is accessible only by boat or plane. Visitors and residents travel by foot, bicycle or horse-drawn carriage. There are only 600 year-round Mackinac Island residents. During the summer, there are more than 500 horses.
To learn more about Mackinac Island, please visit http://www.mackinacisland.org/ and http://www.mackinacparks.com/.
God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!
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