House of Ludington

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House of Ludington

In 1864, E. Gaynor built the Gaynor House hotel, which he renamed the Ludington House in 1871, after lumberman Nelson Ludington. In the late 1800s proprietor John Christie enlarged the hotel and renamed the establishment the New Ludington Hotel. An advertisement in the 1893 Michigan Gazetteer and Business Directory read, "New Ludington Hotel-The Largest and Only hotel in the city having Baths, Steam Heat and electric Call Bells-$2.00 per day." The hotel exemplifies Queen Anne resort architecture, popular in the 1880s and 1890s.

Though the name has changed several times over the years, the hotel ultimately known as the House of Ludington has been an iconic Escanaba landmark for well over one hundred years. Currently vacant, a recent use plan involved converting the historic building into affordable senior housing.