Landmark Inn important to downtown Marquette

For one of Marquette’s best–known hotels, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Landmark Inn has helped drive a rebirth of Marquette’s downtown area.  It originally opened in 1930 as the Hotel Northland, and it was one of the finest luxury hotels in the region.  But, it gradually deteriorated and closed in 1982.

After more than $6 million of renovations, it re–opened under its current name in 1997.  The Landmark Inn is on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America list.

“You do have to redo to very specific specifications,” Landmark Inn Owner Christine Pesola said.  “The lobby that you see today is the lobby that was original.  It’s a redo with new materials basically to the quarter of an inch.”

The Landmark has changed gradually since it re–opened.  Capers Restaurant has been renovated within the last few years.  The Northland Pub now serves Upper Peninsula beer from places like Marquette’s Ore Dock Brewery.

“We’re doing jazz on Sunday’s in the (Northland) pub,” Pesola said.  “We’re also opening it up so we can serve breakfast in the pub, and you can listen to some nice smooth jazz.  So those are some new things we’ve been doing.”

The Hotel Northland had more than one hundred guest rooms when it opened.  Today, the Landmark Inn has 62 guest rooms.