saugatuck michigan

Saugatuck, Michigan

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On March 24,2007, I went to Chicago for the Midwest High Speed Rail Association meeting. After riding the South Shore back to South Bend and spending Saturday night there, I took a Sunday drive up into Michigan to visit some of my haunts from the past. In the late sixties and early seventies, Saugatuck was defined mostly by its beaches, unpretentious bars, and cheap old hotels.

This bar was actually at basement level, down steep, narrow stairs accessed throught the door on the right. On Friday and Saturday nights it was crowded and noisy, but on weeknights it was friendly, relaxed and laid-back. There was a patio in the back, next to the river, that partially flooded during high water.

There were several of these old hotels around the town. They were rickety firetraps, and nowadays their beds would be banned from POW camps as torture devices, but they were cheap. When you're twenty-something and out for a fun weekend, who needs comfort? I didn't see any remaining on this visit; Bed-and-Breakfasts are now the order of the day.

1968 - I can't remember exactly where this mill was in Saugatuck, and I don't know if it still stands. I didn't see it on my recent visit, but I didn't look for it, either.

2007 - I've interleaved the photos from different times, trying where possible to match up similar locations. These next few are from my most recent visit.

1970

1974

2007

1970 - Notice the gas street light on the far left

2007

1970

1974

2007 - pre-season

1974

2007

1968

2007 - This sculpture garden is beside the brown brick building in the above photo

1970

1974 - notice the high water

2007 - The ferry hasn't started for the season. Compare the fares with earlier photos.

1972 - Keewatin was built in Scotland in 1907 and steamed across the Atlantic to Montreal, where she was cut in two. She was towed through the St. Lawrence Seaway and Welland Canal and reassembled at Buffalo, and worked in Canadian Pacific Great Lakes service for nearly sixty years. She is preserved and on display at Douglas, open from Memorial Day through Labor Day.