Hotel Butler upper floors and porch removal, 1972

Photograph

-

Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society

HM38Butler Hotel downsize.jpg

HM38Butler Hotel downsize.jpg

Name/Title

Hotel Butler upper floors and porch removal, 1972

Entry/Object ID

2023.10.376

Description

Photo from the May 11, 1972 Commercial Record of workmen demolishing the porches and rear additions that used to be part of the Hotel Butler. This image was featured as History Mystery #36 with the question "What is going on here?" and the answer "Built to meet the demand for a grist mill, converted to a three story hotel in 1900, the grand old structure was downsized - without missing a day open in the dining room - to save the delightful restaurant we have today ... The Butler."

Photograph Details

Type of Photograph

Digital scan

Subject Person or Organization

40 Butler/Butler Restaurant 1972-present, 40 Butler/Hotel Butler/Grist Mill/Haymarket

Context

Text that accompanied the workmen photo from the May 11, 1972 Commercial Record: Atop the Butler Hotel What's the first thing you do when you plan to tear the top two floors off a hotel? You build a new roof over the remaining floor. That's what they did at the Butler Hotel in Saugatuck, so that business can continue, rain or shine, while workmen dismantle things above. This view, looking northwest from the second floor, shows how it's done. The owners of the Butler, Robert N. Sergeant, Lowell Livingstone and Verser White, decided last year to remove the attic and top two floors, largely unused these days as a hotel, because of their age and a lack of heat. The remaining portion houses the restaurant and bar on the first floor and the rooms of the Singapore Yacht Club in the basement. The building, constructed in 1882, started out as a grist mill. It was enlarged and turned into a hotel in 1901 by Capt. and Mrs. W.G. Phelps. In 1922 the building was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Redebaugh. A hotel poster from the Redebaugh era is one of the few artifacts found during the demolition. (Prosch-Jensen Photo)

Collection

Buildings: Lost, Buildings: Commercial

Cataloged By

Winthers, Sally

Acquisition

Accession

2023.10

Acquisition Method

Found in Collection

Notes

These photos were published by Jack Sheridan for Commercial Record "History Mystery" features.

Location

* Untyped Location

Digital data in CatalogIt

General Notes

Note

These image(s) were copied from the SDHC photo blog [or the Jack Sheridan drive if that was a superior version] in preparation for updating the SDHC website in 2023.

Create Date

November 6, 2023

Update Date

November 6, 2023