The House of Ludington is an old hotel in Escanaba, Michigan. Escanaba is located in Delta County in the South central part of the Upper Peninsula. Escanaba sits on Lake Michigan. The House of Ludington is located in the downtown, next to the city park (Ludington Park). I think the Ludington Park is the best city park in the Upper Peninsula.
The House of Ludington has a long a varied past. it was names after a lumber baron It was originally built out of wood in 1865. In 1883, it was sold, torn down and rebuilt out of brick. In the early 1900’s, the hotel expanded to 100 rooms. Rumor has it that the hotel is haunted. Rumor also has it that Al Capone had stayed there when he would come up to the U.P. for “official business” during the prohibition years.
Pat Hayes had bought the House of Ludington during in 1939. I remember as a child hearing stories about Mr. Hayes. He was an eccentric old gent who did things his way. It didn’t matter how you ordered your steak. He cooked it his way, which meant he didn’t cook the steaks well done. It was one of the best restaurants to go to eat. It seemed like everyone talked about the food and the bar.
There were a couple of rumors circulating around the Upper Peninsula about the House of Ludington. The first rumor is that the place is Pat Hayes haunts the building. The second rumor was that Al Capone had stayed there when he came up to the U.P. to conduct his “business.” But I haven’t heard any corroborating evidence to suggest that he did. I had heard that it was one of his employees that stayed there. During the prohibition years, booze would be smuggled in from Canada through Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan by the Purple Gang (a Jewish gang from detroit) who had “business” dealings with Al Capone.