Front Porch of Grand Hotel – Mackinac Island
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Grand Hotel’s front porch – the longest porch in the world at 660 feet – bestows upon its guests all the elements of a relaxing vacation – a lovely setting to sit and enjoy the passing of the day and the perfect meeting spot to gather with family and friends.
Perched on the western bluff of Mackinac Island, high above the Straits of Mackinac, the porch – a three-story veranda that extends the length of the hotel – is a majestic platform for guests to view the splendors of Mackinac Island – from the colorful, well-kept gardens below to the Mighty Mackinac Bridge in the distance.
In the early 1890s Grand Hotel’s Front Porch became the principal meeting place for all of Mackinac Island, as well as a promenade for the elderly and a “flirtation walk” for island romantics. During the early 1900s people would choose to gather on the porch and in the hotel Parlor to pass time and discuss current events.
The front porch is lined with red geraniums in 238 wooden flower boxes hand-crafted by master craftsman Don “Duck” Andress.
GRAND HOTEL WEDDINGS
The front porch is the site of many of the beautiful weddings performed on Mackinac Island during the summer season. From this one-of-a-kind vantage point, brides and grooms and their guests can see the Straits of Mackinac, Mackinac Bridge and the Grand Hotel gardens below.
CHESS, ANYONE?
At the east end of front porch a giant chess board with kings and queens and knights and pawns ready and waiting for guests to move them through a memorable open-air chess match.
Today admission to the hotel and the front porch is $10.
Visit Grand Hotel Website >>>>
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UTR Michigan – Mackinac’s Grand Hotel – the Biggest Front Porch in the world
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Grand Hotel – Photos From Instagram
Here are the latest photos of Grand Hotel via instagram.
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Observation Tower and Exhibits
Located next to the Activities Center, our turn of the century theater is a one-of-a-kind Mackinac experience. As the only movie theater on the island, it will give you the feeling of going back somewhere in time (literally – the classic theater scene with Christopher Reeve in Somewhere in Time was filmed in here).
Inside the stately stone walls it’s a different time. The cannon blasts, the rifles fire, the soldiers march and history comes alive.
The Original Mackinac Island Butterfly House is the first of it’s kind in Michigan, and the third oldest LIVE butterfly exhibit in the United States. The world renowned facility has 1800 sq ft of tropical garden filled with hundreds of live butterflies from four continents.
The Haunts of Mackinac’ Haunted History Tours are based at Mission Point Resort. Tours can be scheduled in person at the Haunts store located at Mission Point Resort or by calling 906-847-8018.
Premier Paddle & Camping Adventures – Mackinac Island, MI
Welcome to the Haunted Theatre! Not a theater of movies, But a Haunted House of three dimensional monsters. Within these halls you will encounter horrors of the past…Artist’s conceptions of Monsters from Mackinac’s History.
Mission Point Lighthouse has been a Traverse City and Old Mission Peninsula icon for decades. Located at the end of a picturesque drive along M-37 through cherry orchards and vineyards, Mission Point Lighthouse stands as a classic piece of Michigan history. While it no longer guides mariners through West Grand Traverse Bay as it did from September 10, 1870 until it was decommissioned in 1933, Mission Point Lighthouse now offers visitors a peek into what life was like around the turn of the century for lighthouse keepers and for others who lived and worked at that time.
The pool is named for the actress Esther Williams who starred in the 1947 movie, “This Time For Keeps”, filmed on Mackinac Island and at Grand Hotel. The movie has classic scenes of Mackinac Island in the 1940s with shots of sleigh rides through the streets of Mackinac Island in the winter and summer scenes of Grand Hotel and the Esther Williams Swimming Pool. Anyone who has rented a bicycle on Mackinac Island will get a kick out of seeing Jimmy Durante riding on the back of a tandem bicycle through the streets of downtown Mackinac Island.