The Mather Inn is a former hotel in

Ishpeming, Michigan Ishpeming ( ) is a city in Marquette County, Michigan, United States. Located in the Upper Peninsula, the population was 6,140 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, less than it was in the 1950s and 1960s when the Iron ore mines employ ...

. The inn served as housing for the cast of the classic 1959 movie ''

Anatomy of a Murder ''Anatomy of a Murder'' is a 1959 American legal drama film produced and directed by Otto Preminger. The screenplay by Wendell Mayes was based on the 1958 novel of the same name written by Michigan Supreme Court Justice John D. Voelker under ...

'', and was the place where

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

composed the movie's score. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976 and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1978.

History

In 1875, Robert Nelson, the founder of Ishpeming, built a hotel in the city known as the Barnum House. Four years later, the Barnum House burned, and Nelson replaced it with another structure he called the Nelson House. The Nelson House stood until 1928, when it too burned. The loss of Ishpeming's finest hotel affected the

Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (CCI, formerly Cliffs Natural Resources) is an American steel manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. They specialize in the mining, beneficiation, and pelletizing of iron ore, as well as steelmaking, including stamping a ...

, which now had no place to house important guests. Realizing the benefit of having a first-class hotel,

William G. Mather William Gwinn Mather (September 22, 1857 – April 5, 1951) was an American industrialist. Mather was born in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Trinity College for his undergraduate and MA degrees. Mather headed the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company for ...

, Cleveland-Cliffs president, financed the construction of the Mather Inn as a replacement. Mather hired Boston architect James H. Ritchie to design the building and turned to Warren H. Manning, a longtime associate, to design the grounds. The hotel is considered to be an excellent example of the work of both men. The Mather Inn opened in 1932, and served the community for decades. In 1959, it served as lodging for the cast of the classic movie ''

''. In the mid-1980s, the Mather Inn Preservation Society was created to sustain it. However, the inn fell on hard times, and in 1987 it was closed and sold. The inn was vacant for many years, but in 2004 renovations to the building were started. As of 2009, the inn is privately owned and is undergoing a renovation to turn it into luxury residences and office suites. 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 A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

. The brewery closed in 2023 after the hotel's new owners decided to apply for their own

liquor license A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages. Canada In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the l ...

Description

The Mather Inn is a four-story rectangular building, constructed of concrete and steel with a brick facing. The front facade is divided into three bays, with a two-story

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

sheltering the entrance in the center bay. The varied fenestration on the front, including bay windows flanking the center entrance and dormers on the hipped roof, make the facade architecturally interesting. The public areas of the interior are panelled in pine, and include a sunken dining room and men's clubroom. 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. The inn is still substantially similar to its original state, having undergone few alterations.

References

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External links

The Mather Inn
Buildings and structures in Marquette County, Michigan Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1932 Colonial Revival architecture in Michigan Michigan State Historic Sites National Register of Historic Places in Marquette County, Michigan

History

Description

See also

References

External links