Posted on: Query Forum for Marinette County, WI Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Wi/Marinette/10604 Surname: Doran, Boyle, Feeney, Walsh, Missos, Veneros ------------------------- Hi Folks This is Jim Doran, formerly of Marinette, Wisconsin, my home town. I am paraphrasing some information here gleaned from the Marinette Centennial Program Booklet 1987. I believe the Hotel you are looking for is the former "Dunlap House" or its successor the "Hotel Marinette" on Dunlap Square in Marinette. This structure was torn down in the late 60's. The space is now occupied by a Best Western Hotel (Previously a Holiday Inn) at 1821 Riverside Drive, in Marinette, across the street from the Stephenson Public Library. I believe the booths in the Hotel were first lined up on the Menominee River side of the Building on the first floor, but I remember it as a lobby area. The northwest corner of Dunlap Square has been Marinett's major hotel location since 1867, when the old Dunlap House was built, named for George Dunlap, a Chicago railroad builder. It was expanded shortly after the railroad reached Marinette in 1871. It was replaced by the new "Hotel Marinette", a three-story brick building opening on August 8, 1895. They were both the most lavish hotels north of Green Bay at the time, and had many noted guests. The other hostelries in the area in the early years were mostly saloons which had rooms upstairs for guests and provided meals, or boarding houses. Here is a quote from the above mentioned Centennial Booklet that describes the dining room in the "Hotel Marinette" in its prime, circa 1900 or so. "The original dining room, later the lobby, had large windows overlooking the river. The high-ceiling room, the uniformed waitresses, fancy menu, wine list and music brought an elegance to Marinette life that impressed even the salesmen and lumber buyers who stayed over the weekends." The Hotel Marinette faltered as an entity in the late 1960's, and was demolished. After a couple of years the City of Marinette successfully negotiated a contract to build a four-story Holiday Inn on the site, since taken over by the Best Western chain. Attended my 40th High School class reunion there two years ago. I have a close connection to downtown Marinette. My family home is only a few blocks from Dunlap Square. My mom's father owned and operated the old Princess Restaurant in downtown Marinette. On my Dad's side the Dorans and Boyles have been in the Marinette/Menominee area since the early 1880's. My memory of Dunlap Square extends to the year 1945, when I was four years old, and the celebration that occurred there at the end of World War II. Link: Doran Family History and Genealogy URL: <http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/d/o/r/James-Doran/>