The Finest Hotel in New Baltimore

Grand Pacific House

Date Visited:  August 25, 2019

Stop:  #58

 Kathy and I wrapped up our visit to St. John’s Lutheran Church and embarked on the next leg of our journey across Macomb County.  Okay, so maybe “embarking on our next leg” is a bit of an embellishment.  Our next stop was actually only about 2 blocks away, or 800 feet.  We drove southeast on Maria Street to Alfred Street and made a left.  One block later, we came to Washington Street and made a right.  This was when we first realized the magnitude of activity that was going on in New Baltimore that day.  Washington Street from Main Street to Front Street was shut down to accommodate the weekly Farmer’s Market.  Parking was at a premium so we actually had to drive around a bit before we were able to fine a parking space.  We were lucky to get a spot on Washington Street in front of Fin’s Eatery & Spirits.  This was convenient because our next 3 stops were all within a short walking distance from each other and the spot we found was right in the middle of them all.

Our first stop was across the street from where we parked and was a beautiful Italianate-style building known as the Grand Pacific House.  The historical marker is mounted to the face of the building, just to the right of the main entrance to the Museum.

So, in my previous blog, we learned that by the late 1800’s, New Baltimore had become a popular place for city dwellers to escape the drudgery of city life for recreation and relaxation.  They would arrive by rail or by steamship knowing that cottages, hotels, beaches, and salt baths awaited them.  One of the finest hotels in the area was the Grand Pacific House.

The Grand Pacific House was built in 1881 for Frederick C. Losh and is the last remaining hotel from that era.  The building has a deep foundation made of limestone that was shipped to New Baltimore from Kelly’s Island (located in Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio).  The rest of the two-story building was constructed by local bricklayers using bricks made at Streit’s brickyard.  This hotel had a lobby, dining room and kitchen, and a saloon on the first floor.  On the second floor were eight guest rooms.

Frederick died in 1890 and his wife, Emma, continued to run the hotel.  As the Golden Age in New Baltimore began to wane, business at the Grand Pacific House began to slow.  Emma sold the hotel to her brother, Amos Springborn, in 1909.  In 1910, Amos converted the hotel into a boardinghouse, and shortly after that, it became a private residence.  In the 1920’s, the saloon portion of the Grand Pacific House was converted into a soda fountain and candy store.  The transformation of the building continued in 1927 when Ed Maliskey converted the former saloon into a hardware store, which he ran until his death in 1972.

Many businesses occupied the building until the New Baltimore Historical Society purchased the Grand Pacific House in 1986, using fundraisers and private donations to generate the required funds.  The historical marker was erected in 1995.  Today, the building serves as a museum.  Due to COVID, the museum has very limited hours – currently open on Saturdays from noon until 2:00 pm.  Among many artifacts and highlights in the museum is the newly renovated 1940’s style kitchen.

The museum was closed the day we were there, so there was not much to do other than snap our usual array of photographs and walk down the block to our next destination.

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