Mather Inn, Ishpeming, Michigan
The Mather Inn is a four-story hotel in Ishpeming, Michigan, that opened in 1932 with a rectangular footprint and brick exterior. The facade features a central two-story columned porch, varied window styles including bay windows and roof dormers, and interior spaces paneled with pine wood.
The Mather Inn was built in 1932 after two hotel fires destroyed earlier buildings on the same site and was funded by William G. Mather of the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company. It was designed by Boston architect James H. Ritchie and recognized as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 before being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The name honors William G. Mather, a local business leader who funded the building in the 1930s. The community was involved from the start, purchasing shares in the project, which made the inn a symbol of collective effort and civic pride that locals still recognize today.
The building is located downtown in Ishpeming and is easily accessible with parking nearby for visitors. Today it houses apartments and commercial spaces, including a brewery in the basement, but it no longer operates as a traditional lodging hotel.
Jazz legend Duke Ellington famously composed at the piano in the lobby while working on the music score for the 1959 film Anatomy of a Murder. The entire cast and crew of that movie stayed here during filming, making it a backdrop to Hollywood history in an unexpected Michigan location.
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