Rendezvous with history this summer in Escanaba
With the upcoming annual Rendezvous in Escanaba, Mich. (M-101) this year, and this area’s deep history, it’s a good time to share some of the interesting history on the venues GLCC members will be visiting during the July 14-18 Rendezvous.
REMINDER: If you haven’t already, Now is the time to register for the 2024 Rendezvous. Click here to register online.
Dockage: Your Rendezvous slip reservation will be secured directly from your GLCC Event Registration Form based on your vessel dimensions/requirements. Dockage is reserved until April 15, for GLCC members who have registered for the event. Don’t delay, send in your Rendezvous registration today.
Commodore’s Reception at Hereford & Hops
In 1912, a group of Escanaba businessmen started making plans to meet the demand for a first-class hotel worthy of their city’s status as a hub for industry, commerce, and recreation. The name was the Delta Hotel.
The project was ambitious for the time, as the five-story, all-brick structure would be the tallest building in town. In January 1914, the hotel had a grand opening event that included entertainment from Escanaba’s military band and a traveling cabaret company.
Attending the festivities were state and local officials, as well as hotel owners from five states wanting to copy aspects of the construction.
Ownership of the Delta Hotel would change hands a few times over subsequent years, including C.J. Burns, who established a bar in the hotel’s basement. In the middle of the 20th century, the demand for first-class hotels declined. The Diocese of Marquette bought the building in 1962 and converted it to a nursing home.
In 1992, the current owners acquired the property. With the state of Michigan legalizing brewpubs that year, the building was renovated into a fully functioning restaurant and brewery (with 32 apartments on the upper floors), thereby officially becoming the first brewpub in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and only third brewpub in the state.
Hereford & Hops brewpub opened in 1994. The owners’ goal was to highlight the building’s historical significance while creating an atmosphere inspired by British pubs. Keep an eye out for the coins still embedded in the floors: they’re dated 1914 and 1994, in tribute to the years when the Delta Hotel and Hereford & Hops opened. The U.S. Park Service placed the building on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Commodore’s Dinner at House of Ludington
This hotel predates the Delta Hotel. It was built in 1864 by lumber baron Nelson Gaynor and was named the Gaynor House. It was originally located in the middle of Ludington Street, but was moved to its present location in 1868. In 1871, an addition was built on the east end, and it was renamed the Ludington House.
It was said to be the largest hotel on the Upper Peninsula at the time. The building was sold in 1883 and renamed the New Ludington Hotel.
The new owners added a west wing in 1903. By 1910, the hotel had more than 100 rooms. The hotel was one of the first to have electricity, steam heat, and baths – all available for $2 a day. In 1937, the cocktail lounge was added, replacing an inner courtyard where the bar is today.
Many famous people have visited this hotel over the years, including the Fords, Thomas Edison, John Phillip Sousa, Johnny Cash, the Prince of Sweden, bank robber Baby Face Nelson, and the Harlem Globetrotters.