Hotel Northern

In late 1881, the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad announced plans to build a passenger station on Washington Street near the Manistee River. Joseph Baur, a prosperous businessperson and real estate investor, saw the need for a hotel located on the north side of the river to serve travelers coming into the city by rail. In 1880, he had built two stores on the southwest corner of Washington and Lincoln Streets. As the railroad business grew, he added three more stores and finally a second story level that spanned the entire block and contained hotel rooms. Named the Pacific House, the hotel opened in late 1884. Business was so good that Baur constructed a large addition in 1887 containing forty additional rooms. The building was later renamed the Cleveland House and contained a bar, billiard room, office, dining room, kitchen, ladies' parlor, and ladies' reception room in addition to its guest rooms. Several large apartments were provided for families with the ground floor shops occupied by various commercial tenants over the years. As the years passed, the building complex would later go by the name Hotel Northern.