The Holland Hotel - A Railroad-Era Landmark in East Tawas

When the Holland Hotel opened on July 31, 1893, East Tawas was staking its future on rail connections and lake traffic. Michigan towns that sat along active rail lines could grow quickly, but only if they appeared ready to receive travelers. The Holland Hotel was built to send that signal.

The hotel stood beside the Detroit & Mackinac Railroad, positioned so arriving passengers could see it immediately from the train. That placement mattered. Railroads determined commercial relevance, and East Tawas wanted to be more than a minor stop. The Holland Hotel became the town’s most visible statement of confidence.

The Rise of Michigan's Tourist Industry

Constructed by the Holland-Emery Company, the building followed a late-19th-century boom-town formula. Brick walls suggested permanence. A corner tower announced importance. Wide wooden porches wrapped the structure, offering space for guests to wait, socialize, and watch rail traffic. Advertisements emphasized steam heat, electric lighting, and hot water throughout—features still worth advertising in the early 1890s.¹

The Holland Hotel quickly became the principal stopping place between Bay City and Alpena. Newspapers reported that trains regularly paused so passengers could take meals inside.² For travelers, the hotel functioned as East Tawas’ public front door. For the town, it was a commercial anchor.

Fire, It's Always Fire

Comfort came with risk. Heating systems relied on basement furnaces and flues hidden behind walls. In one major fire, flames spread upward through concealed spaces before anyone realized the extent of the danger. By the time the fire was controlled, the rear portion of the hotel was badly damaged from basement to roof. Reports described bulging walls, smoke damage, and water-soaked interiors.³ The front of the building survived and remained usable, and repairs followed.

Such fires were not unusual. Michigan hotels of this period were heated continuously for long winters, often with limited fire detection and small volunteer departments. When fire reached interior wall spaces, it could move faster than crews could respond.

The Hotel Moves On

Ownership of the Holland Hotel changed hands as the local economy shifted. Newspaper notices reflect financial pressure even before the final disaster.

After World War II, tastes changed. Travelers preferred drive-in motels and glassy modern inns. Big brick hotels were expensive to maintain. By 1950 the old Holland Hotel was aging. Newspaper accounts (and local recollections) say a major fire swept the building in 1957. The old hotel continued for the next thirty years but time and use wore on the old structure and it was deemed unsafe and eventually torn down to make way for a big box store.

Today, the Holland Hotel survives only in photographs, advertisements, and newspaper columns. The images show guests lining the porches, trains idling nearby, and a town briefly aligned with opportunity. They also show how quickly that opportunity could vanish.

The Holland Hotel stood for over 100 years, yet its story captures a broader Michigan pattern: towns built fast, heated hard, and operated close to the edge. Fire was not an exception. It was a constant companion to progress.

Final Thoughts About The Hotel Holland in East Tawas

Today’s East Tawas may look very different, but the Holland Hotel’s history remains a chapter of northern Michigan lore. Its story – from lumber to trains to automobiles – reminds us how mobility and industry shape a town. When you stroll the shore at Tawas Bay State Park, imagine past summer days when the Holland Hotel cast a long shadow over the lake. The archives, like the postcard above, keep that memory alive.

Footnotes

• Iosco County News, July 1893, Holland Hotel opening advertisements.
• Tawas Herald, 1890s, railroad meal stop notices.
• Iosco County Press, report on Holland Hotel fire damage, early 1900s.
• Tawas Herald, report on destruction of Holland Hotel by fire, estimated loss.