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Landmark hits 100

Laurium Manor Inn marks centennial with open house

By JANE NORDBERG

DMG Writer

LAURIUM — One hundred years ago, one of the largest and most opulent of the area’s homes was under construction.

A century later, it still looks pretty good, says Julie Sprenger, a 20-year owner of the Laurium Manor Inn, located at 320 Tamarack St. in Laurium.

Sprenger, with co-owner and husband Dave Sprenger, invites the public to celebrate the Inn’s centennial with an open house from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. On offer is birthday cake, lemonade and self-guided tours of the Laurium Manor Inn and adjacent properties, the Victorian Hall and Miner’s Cottage.

“We want people to come in and see the property in all of its historic integrity,” Julie said.

Built for Thomas H. Hoatson, owner of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Company, and his wife, Cornelia, the 45-room mansion cost $50,000 to build in 1908 at a time when miners were making .25 per hour. An additional $35,000 of furnishings were added after construction.

Some of the home’s unique features include 13,000 square feet on four floors, a silver-leaf covered domed ceiling in the music parlor, gilded and embossed elephant leather wall coverings and a grand triple staircase of hand-carved oak.

The tour also includes a trip to the gift shop, located in the former ballroom.

“We’ve got lots of new items,” Sprenger said.

Renovations have been made to replace an original 9-foot by 14-foot stained glass window on the stairway landing, and a restoration project to a 1912 automobile turntable has also recently been completed by Michigan Technological University mechanical engineering design technology students.

“It was looking pretty shabby and they did a great job,” Sprenger said. “It’s wonderful to be able to show it off.”

Included in the open house is a tour of the Victorian Hall Bed & Breakfast, located at 305 Tamarack across from the Laurium Manor Inn. Built in 1906, the mansion was home to Norman MacDonald, a partner in the Calumet & Arizona.

Features of the 7,000-square-foot home include six carved fireplaces, eight guest rooms with private baths, a carriage house suite with a wood-burning fireplace and two bedrooms, and an 80-foot wraparound porch.

The tour’s final property is the Miner’s Cottage, opened by the Sprengers just last year as a weekly rental property.

The two-story, 1,700-square-foot house is located one block north of the Laurium Manor Inn at 237 Tamarack St.

Although the tours will be self-guided, Sprenger said she and the staff will be available to answer any questions.

A $3 donation for the tour supports the Copper Country Humane Society, of which the Sprengers are devoted supporters.

“Flops and Yoda are just two of the wonderful animals we’ve adopted from the shelter,” said Sprenger of the couple’s grey cats. “They’re social and loving, and the people at the shelter do a great job.”

For more information, visit http://www.lauriummanorinn.com'>www.lauriummanorinn.com, or email innkeeper@laurium.info'>innkeeper@laurium.info or call 337-2549.



Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com'>jnordberg@mininggazette.com

 

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