Ishpeming's 'movie famous' inn finds new life

The owners of the Union Station Depot in neighboring Negaunee have opened a new craft cocktail lounge on the ground floor of Ishpeming’s historic Mather Inn, the hotel which once housed the cast of the movie “Anatomy of a Murder,” and the site where Duke Ellington composed the film’s avant-garde jazz soundtrack.

What’s happening: Bill Anderson and Liisa Petersen are the new owners of The Mather, the building once known as the Mather Inn at 100 Canada St. At the inn's main floor lounge, 12 employees serve up craft cocktails, a selection of bottled beers, a wide selection of wine and a selection of nonalcoholic options. “We can create any of our cocktails in a nonalcoholic version,” Petersen says, along with mocktails and nonalcoholic beer.

The rooms above the cocktail lounge no longer function as the hotel of its heyday -- they now serve as a mixed-use space. “The second, third and fourth floors house 16 apartments, of which three are currently used for shorter term rentals, weekly or monthly,” Petersen says.

The Mather’s historic ballroom is available for family or corporate events, bridal showers, baby showers and similar gatherings. “The space makes for the most beautiful wedding and reception (venue) in the area,” Petersen says. “Our gardens on the grounds make the perfect backdrop for an outside ceremony and elegant reception indoors.”
 
Petersen says tourists to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are certainly welcome “but the locals are our clientele of focus.” She said many regulars at the lounge worked at the establishment in their younger years and other locals of the younger generation have never been inside “so we are excited when we have the opportunity to show them.”

The back story: The building is rich with local history, and the structure reflects the social mores of the times. “This was the original bar in the building when it was built in 1932 and was known on the original blueprints as the ‘gentlemen’s bar,’” Petersen says. “The first floor actually did not even have a ladies’ restroom at that time — only men's. The ladies' room was located on the second floor, where the ladies also had their ‘clubhouse.’”

The Mather | FacebookHistoric photo of the Mather Inn.The inn, which opened in 1932, was built after fire twice destroyed city hotels, leaving the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company no place to house its important clients and visitors. So, the company’s president financed the construction of the Mather Inn, hiring Boston architect James H. Ritchie to design the building and Warren H. Manning, a longtime associate, designed the grounds. Designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1976, it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. Its records there have not yet been digitized, but according to a Wikipedia entry, the building is still similar to its original state.

What’s next: Cognition brewery most recently occupied The Mather’s basement space but relocated to its new location in Marquette in 2022. Now, the basement space is being renovated, Petersen says, with an expansion to include a 24-tap bar featuring regional brews, and a robust wine selection.

“We will be bringing back the legendary ‘bird baths’ from the past Taproom,” she says, “a wood fired pizza oven for gourmet woodfired pizza and upscale bar food such as sliders and bourbon steak bits.”

The basement will also have a stage for live music. The space will once again be called The Mather Taproom and is expected to open this winter. The original footprint of the basement bar will be available for private events and the expanded space will include approximately 5,000 square feet of renovations.  

Funding: At this time, none of the work has been supported by grant funding, Petersen says, “however, we have been very proactively pursuing MEDC funding for future projects … “We are overwhelmed with the support we have been receiving from the community."

The Mather Lounge recently celebrated its reopening. Current summer hours are from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. 

Rosemary Parker has worked as a writer and editor for more than 40 years. She is a regular contributor to Rural Innovation Exchange and other Issue Media Group publications.