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 the place 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]
Mather Inn | |
 | |
   | |
| Location | 107 Canda St., Ishpeming, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 46°29′30″N 87°40′5″W / 46.49167°N 87.66806°W |
| Built | 1931 |
| Architect | James H. Ritchie, Warren H. Manning |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival, Georgian revival vernacular |
| NRHP reference No. | 78001505[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 20, 1978 |
| Designated MSHS | June 18, 1976[2] |
History edit
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]
In 2014, the old boiler room and adjacent storage area were converted into a brewery named Cognition Brewing Company. The brewery served its beer out of the old pub.[9] The brewery closed in 2023 after the hotel's new owners decided to apply for their own liquor license.[10][11]
Description edit
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 edit
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mather Inn Archived 2011-06-06 at the Wayback Machine from the state of Michigan, retrieved 12/22/09
- ^ Anatomy of a Murder Ishpeming Walking Tour Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Peter White Public Library, Marquette.
- ^ John Monaghan, "The movie that put Ishpeming on the map," Detroit Free Press, January 20, 2009
- ^ Dennis McCann, "Marquette, Michigan remembers 'Anatomy of a Murder,'" Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Nov. 7, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g h About the Mather Inn, retrieved 12/22/09
- ^ Johanna Boyle, "Mather Inn renovation moving along," The Mining Journal, November 19, 2008
- ^ Johanna Boyle, "Ishpeming stops work on Mather renovation," The Mining Journal, October 8, 2009
- ^ [1] "Former Mather Inn Hotel taproom will host the new Cognition Brewing Company in Ishpeming," The Mining Journal, August 17, 2014
- ^ "Cognition Brewing Company to close Ishpeming location". Upper Michigan's Source. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ^ "Cognition closing". The Mining Journal. Retrieved 2023-05-23.