This one is still on my bucket list. In these August 1955 photos, a lucky family visited The Grand Hotel, built in 1887. Supposedly, the massive front porch of this hotel is the largest in the world, measuring in at 660 feet. Now THAT'S Grand!
Here the doorman, looking as if he came from a fox hunt, poses with the two children.
Mom steps in for this photo.
Here you can see the hotel's resort-scale Esther Williams swimming pool.
On the island itself, cars are not allowed, thus these old-fashioned horse-drawn vehicles.
Mackinac's version of Main Street. Very quaint.
And in case you didn't know, this was the hotel that was used for the backdrop of the sappy romance film "Somewhere in Time" starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour.
Hopefully one day I'll make it there myself. See more vintage Mackinac Island photos on my Mackinac Island web page.
I recognized the hotel from the movie right away, its so distinctive. Awesome hotel, I'd love to see it in person one day. The little town looks awesome too!
ReplyDeleteGreat "somewhat under-rated" movie btw...
Mackinac must have been a very popular destination at one time - I probably wouldn't even know about it except that I kept finding slides of it.
ReplyDeleteI went there with my parents when I was a young kid. Don't remember much except riding in the horse-drawn carriage, walking up the steps to the Grand Hotel...and visiting a tourist trap-style haunted house.
ReplyDeleteIn college, I worked one summer at The Grand as a bellman and doorman, about 20 years ago. It was the year Esther Williams came to have the pool named after her - she had filmed a movie there in the 1940s. And yes I had to wear that red coat and top hat when working the front steps. It's a gorgeous hotel in a stunning natural setting,
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