    
Date Designated: June 29, 1989
Location: Mackinac Island (Mackinac County) |
The Grand Hotel is a historic hotel and coastal resort on Mackinac Island. Constructed in the late 19th century, the facility advertises itself as having the world's largest porch. The Grand Hotel is well known for a number of notable visitors, including five U.S. presidents, Russian presidents Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev, inventor Thomas Edison, and author Mark Twain.
In 1886, the Michigan Central Railroad, Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, and Detroit and Cleveland Steamship Navigation Company formed the Mackinac Island Hotel Company. The group purchased the land on which the hotel was built and construction began, based upon the design by Detroit architects Mason and Rice. When it opened the following year, the hotel was advertised to Chicago, Erie, Montreal and Detroit residents as a summer retreat for vacationers who arrived by lake steamer and by rail from across the continent. At its opening, nightly rates at the hotel ranged from US $3 to US $5 a night.
In 1957, the Grand Hotel was designated a State Historical Building. In 1972, the hotel was named to the National Register of Historic Places, and on June 29, 1989, the hotel was made a National Historic Landmark.
Grand Hotel's front porch is the longest in the world at some 660 feet in length, overlooking a vast Tea Garden and the resort-scale Esther Williams swimming pool. These areas are often used by guests on a casual family vacation, for large conventions, or concerts during the hotel's annual Labor Day Jazz Festival.
Guests are transported from the docks to the hotel via horse-drawn carriage. Before 2007, air conditioning was only available in public rooms, such as the lobby, parlor and Salle a Manger (main dining room). Due to the building's design it was difficult to add air conditioning to the guest rooms. Air conditioning was installed in 170 guest rooms after water heat exchangers in the bathrooms were added. The exchangers cool the air through contact with the cold water system.
Mackinac Island does not permit motor vehicles (except for emergency vehicles and, in winter, snowmobiles) and transport to and from the dock to the hotel is via horse-drawn carriage. The only other motor vehicles allowed in recent history were cars brought over for the filming of Somewhere in Time. During the winter months, when ice prevents ferry transport from the mainland, the hotel is closed.
The Grand Hotel served as a backdrop and one of the settings for the 1980 film Somewhere in Time starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. Every October the hotel hosts an annual convention for fans of the cult-classic. |