A weekly look at famous

Superiorland buildings,

then and now.

Historic courtesy photo

provided by the

Marquette Regional History Center

By LISA BOWERS

Journal City Editor

ISHPEMING –The Mather Inn is one of those buildings that is simply woven into the fabric of the town it was built in.

The hotel first opened in 1932 “to much fanfare,” according to a Mining Journal article written by Ishpeming historian Karen Kasper.

S.R. Elliott, the manager of Cleveland Cliffs Iron Company’s Marquette District at the time, was the driving force behind the hotel.

In a letter to CCI President William G. Mather, Elliot said “I discussed this subject with you, emphasizing the fact that the city of Ishpeming should have a hotel and that on account of the close, friendly relationship between our company and the people of Ishpeming that I was strongly of the opinion that the company should take an active part in this hotel project and try to bring it to a successful conclusion.”

Elliot gathered local businessmen and raised funds for the hotel after the Nelson House hotel was destroyed by fire in 1928.

The hotel was designed by Boston architect James Ritchie, Warren G. Manning designed the grounds.

It was Mather’s idea to call the new building an inn instead of a hotel, “the idea being that a ‘Hotel’ is more pretentious than an ‘Inn,'” he wrote in a letter to Elliot.

Among its important public rooms were a pine-paneled main lobby with a large open fireplace, a men’s clubroom, and a sunken dining room.

The inn’s 47 rooms had the distinction of housing notable guests including the cast of “Anatomy of a Murder” in 1959.

The building also had three apartments.

It closed its doors in 1987 and was sold. It was vacant until 2004 when renovations were started.

The building has been the source of some controversy, in recent years when the former owners had a long-standing dispute with Cognition Brewery over an electricity bill.

The owners were arrested in 2021 on charges of criminal contempt and one of them was also charged for assaulting a Cognition employee.

The Inn was purchased by new owners in 2022.

The 39,000-square -foot building has been renovated to provide a banquet space and short and long-term rentals.

A distillery tasting room has replaced the brewery.

The new owners simply call it The Mather.