S. Walker's Hotel

Walker's, S., Hotel
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
The Brick Walker Tavern in 2019
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Interactive map showing the location for S. Walker’s Hotel
Location	11705 US-12, Cambridge Township, Michigan
Coordinates	42°3′32″N 84°13′18″W / 42.05889°N 84.22167°W / 42.05889; -84.22167
Area	2.2 acres (0.89 ha)
Built	1853 (1853)
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Italianate
NRHP reference No.	07000381[1]
Added to NRHP	May 2, 2007

S. Walker's Hotel, also known as the Brick Walker Tavern, is a former hotel/tavern located at 11705 US-12 in Cambridge Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.^[1] The hotel is notable for its brick exterior and three-story height - most other surviving early brick tavern/hotel buildings in Michigan are two-story frame structures.^[2] The building is currently operated as an event space known as the "Brick Walker Tavern."^[3]

History

Sylvester and Lucy Walker were married in

The new building was completed in late 1852 and it had a separate dining room and taproom on the first floor, guest rooms on the second floor, and a ballroom on the third floor. The Walkers continued to own both the frame Walker Tavern and the new hotel until 1863. Although the Chicago Road saw a decrease in traffic due to the construction of railroad lines in southern Michigan, the Walkers were likely able to stay in business thanks to their taproom, which catered to residents. In 1859, Walker sold the hotel to Silas Giles of Detroit but remained living in the hotel until he died in 1868.[2]

Silas Giles sold the hotel to William Graves and George Curtis in 1863, who in turn sold it to Lyman Nearing later that same year. Lyman Nearing was born in 1817 in

In the early 1920s, Hewitt's interests began to turn toward antiques. He was familiar with the

Hewitt's antique business was so successful that he opened two more shops, one in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1924, and one in Chicago in 1929. He then purchased the Springville Inn a few miles from the hotel. In 1930, he built a home near the wooden Walker Tavern, and in 1931 opened the entire Brick Tavern to the public as a combination antique shop and museum. In 1934, due to the Great Depression, Hewitt sold his subsidiary stores and concentrated on managing the Springville Inn. He turned over the management of the wooden tavern to his daughter and her husband, Forest Keith, and turned over the brick hotel to his son, James, to run as an antique shop.^[2]

In 1965, the Hewitts sold the wooden tavern to the state of Michigan, and in 1967 sold the brick hotel to antique dealers Nells and Joseph Schmidt. Since that time, the building has been operated by various people as an antique shop.^[2] In the mid-2000s, it was purchased by Tom Lee, who restored it to operate as a wedding and event center known as the Brick Walker Tavern.^[3]

Description

S. Walker's Hotel is a three-story, side-gable building with a symmetrical five-bay front facade with a center entrance, displaying both Greek Revival and Italianate architectural elements. It is constructed of solid, load-bearing red brick walls with yellow-brownish sandstone trim. A two-story ell projects from the rear. The eaves of the shallow roof are supported by regularly spaced brackets, and two brick chimneys are placed at either end of the roof.^[2]

The front facade contains a center entrance with two windows on either side; the entryway itself contains sidelights and a transom above. The stories above each contain six regularly spaced windows, unaligned with the first story openings. Each side elevations contain four windows in each story. Nearly all the windows are six-over-six double-hung units, many with original glazing. Sandstone lintels cap all the windows.^[2]

The building is set very close to the highway, and upon a slight rise, with a concrete retaining wall supporting the hillock. Opposite the highway, the hill falls away, exposing the basement story of the hotel. Across the highway is the wooden Walker Tavern, now part of the Cambridge Junction Historic State Park. Three historically contributing outbuildings are also located on the property, two board and batten barns dating from c. 1870, and one board-sided barn constructed in the 1920s.^[2]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to S. Walker's Hotel.