Built as community status symbol, this Michigan Hotel was the center of the former lumber town

Wolverine Hotel - Dilworth Hotel, Boyne Michigan

Date added: November 06, 2023 Categories:

Between 1900 and 1910, Boyne City's population grew from 912 to 5,995 residents. This later date was near the peak of the lumbering era; Boyne City was the lumber capital of northwest Michigan from the mid-1880s until the 1920s. Three major lumber mills were located in Boyne City. The largest was the W. H. White Company; its Mil1 No. 1 produced 75,000 board feet per day. Another was the Von Platen mill, which employed 100 men in the mill and the woods and produced 12,000,000 board feet per year. The Boyne City Lumber Company mill employed 225 men in the mill and the woods in the year 1907, producing 22,000,000 board feet that year. Boyne City also grew during this period due to the establishment of several other related industries. W. H. White founded the Boyne City, Gaylord, and Alpena Railroad Co. to service his lumber mills. The offices and maintenance shops were headquartered in Boyne City; the roundhouse at one time housed thirteen engines. The Boyne City Chemical Plant was opened in 1902 to produce charcoal, lime and wood alcohol from the unused cuttings resulting from lumbering; at its peak, it employed 100 men. The Boyne City Tannery was begun in 1901 to utilize the hemlock bark which was also a by-product of lumbering. By 1907, the tannery occupied 23 buildings and employed 25 men. Also related to lumbering was the Elm Cooperage, established in 1902; two years later it employed 100 men and produced 125,000 pieces of hoop, staves, and head liners daily. All the construction required to house this growth together with the abundance of clay deposits northwest of the city, prompted the establishment of the Boyne City Clay Products Co. in 1902. By 1907, 70,000 bricks were produced daily. From its kilns came the brick used to construct the Wolverine Hotel. Another major industry was the Boyne City Charcoal Iron Company, founded in 1904. Using iron Ore from Escanaba, Michigan and the charcoal from the Boyne City Chemical Plant, it produced pig iron, which was transported out by ship. In 1907 this business employed 85 men. Lumber from the mills was also transported by ship; in four days in 1911, six ships were loaded in Boyne City, which carried a total of 3,873,000 board feet of lumber.

The Wolverine Hotel was the product of the growth and optimism that Boyne City experienced in the first decade of this century. Leading residents of the community formed the Boyne City Hotel Company, comprised of 46 stockholders. The name "Wolverine Hotel" was chosen at a stockholder's meeting on October 7^th, 1911; the formal opening of the building took place on February 1^st, 1912. Although Boyne City had half a dozen hotels at this time, it was a workingman's town. The Wolverine Hotel was built to be a community status symbol, a building with style and class. The Neo-Classic Revival character of the exterior and of the interior reflected the desire for a sense of refinement and taste in Boyne City. By the 1920s, the period of growth and optimism was over; the timber in the northern lower peninsula was depleted by the end of World War I. Following this, mills were closed, businesses collapsed and homes were vacated. In 1936, the hotel changed ownership and was renamed the Dilworth Hotel. It became known nationally for hosting Boyne City's Annual Smelt Run Banquet during the 1930s and 40s. The Wolverine-Dilworth is the only hotel remaining in the Boyne area from the turn of the century, an era in which northern Michigan played a significant role in the growth of commerce in this country.

Building Description

The Wolverine-Dilworth Hotel is located at the east end of the three-block-long downtown commercial area of Boyne City, Michigan (population 3,000). It is on the southeast corner of Water Street and East Street. At the foot of Water Street, three blocks to the west, is Lake Charlevoix, located in the center of northwest Michigan's resort area. The many beautiful lakes of the region were formed during the last Ice Age, and are a major component of the economic base of the region today. The Wolverine-Dilworth Hotel is a four-story Neo-Classic Revival style masonry structure, completed in 1912. The contractor for the $40,000 building was Price Brothers of East Jordon; the architect is unknown. The ground floor is one-half below grade, with the main lobby floor approximately 4' above grade, and two floors of guest rooms above this. It is a rectangular building on the lower two floors, approximately 76' wide and 96' long. The second and third floors are "U" shaped in plan, with the two wings of the building oriented to the rear or south. This arrangement creates a long, narrow lightwell-type space (12'x50') between the wings, providing natural light to all guest rooms. The roof is flat with a parapet running around the perimeter. The exterior walls are constructed of red/orange brick with minimal ornamentation. The brick corbels out slightly at the third floor window heads all around the building. The third-story openings are treated differently than any of the others by being outlined with an inset corbel and accented by small, white concrete corner blocks, which stand out in contrast to the red brick. A large, unornamented sheet metal cornice runs around the structure mid-way between the upper windows and the parapet top. The hotel originally had three Neo-Classic Revival style porches on the north, east, and west elevations. They were designed with pairs of square Doric columns on rectangular piers supporting low-pitched roofs. The porches were at one time removed, but have recently been reconstructed, based on early photographs and physical evidence. On the interior, the public spaces on the first floor were the most lavishly decorated. The lobby, in the northwest corner of the building, is treated in Neo-Classic Revival style to match the exterior, with pilasters projecting from the walls and supporting a beamed, coffered ceiling with ornamental plaster mouldings. A single round column is located at the corner of the front desk where it turns a 90' angle. The woodwork is dark-stained oak, with a transparent finish, and is used at openings, vestibule enclosures, and the front desk. The floor throughout the 25'x45' lobby space, is porcelain tile laid in white background with multiple accent colors in a repetitive pattern. The tile extends down a large hall, past the main stair, to the dining room. The main dining room, located in the southwest corner of the building, also features pilasters and a coffered ceiling with ornamental plaster mouldings. This room is 30'x49' and is comprised of eight ceiling coffers, each with an original hanging chandelier (although many of the glass shades are nor-original). The south wall has a large fireplace flanked on each side by a window with a stained glass transom. The four windows on the other outside wall also have stained glass transoms. The third major space is a bar/dining roan in the northeast corner of the building. A portion of this room has a wood-coffered ceiling. The kitchen is in the southeast corner of the building. A later 12'x50' wood frame addition was made to the rear/south elevation adjacent to the kitchen to accommodate coolers and freezers. Second and third-story spaces are designed in a utilitarian manner with plaster walls and plain, turn-of-the-century painted woodwork. The circulation pattern is "U" shaped, with the main stair at the base of the "U". An elevator (which no longer exists) was located next to the stair, and originally served all four floors.