Culver Inn to be demolished  

1991 - January 23 – It was revealed that theCulver Inn would be demolished sometime in the spring…

Here are the last pictures of the Culver Inn just before demolition occurred.

Here are two articles on the demolition of the Inn. - The Plymouth Pilot - date unknown -
Business

Under the picture was: When snow-covered ice on Lake Maxinkuckee is replaced by motorboats and swimmers this summer, a famous lakeshore landmark will be absent. The Culver Inn has lost money for the last nine years, according to Culver Academies President Ralph Manuel. "That's too much money to lose when you're running a school', he explained.

Culver Inn, Opened in 1875
faces demolition this spring

by David Horn
P-N- Business Editor

Culver - The venerable Culver Inn will be razed this spring, according to Culver Academies President Ralph Manuel. Final pearl in a string of six vanished hotelries that once jeweled Lake Maxinkuckee, the business was been losing money for nine consecutive years, creating more debts that the school should carry, Manuel said.

Like the Chadwick on the west shore, the Bide-A-Way on the east. The Osborn Hotel in downtown Culver . The Lake view on the bluff along Indian Trail and the Jungle. The Culver Inn will soon be reduced to rubble, but memories of elegant parlors, candlelit suppers and rocking chairs on a porch overlooking Indiana's prettiest lake will all survive the wrecking ball.

The structure we'll remember as the Culver Inn first opened in 1875 as the Palmer House Hotel. Owned by Plymouth resident, J. W. Palmer, it served guests on week-end visits to Lake Maxinkuckee, doubling during the week as a rooming house. Palmer owned it for twelve years before selling it to Fred Lampson, who sold it in turn to John P. Walter in 1907.

New-fangled "horseless carriages" were edging buggies off our country roads when Walter took the reins. For the next quarter century, The Palmer House continued to serve its quests with 22 bedrooms, only tow bathrooms, a dinning room, card room, and kitchen facilities.

Several years of change began in 1931, when the Culver Realty and Investment Company owned by E. R. and B. B. Culver bought the property and incorporated in 1932 as the Maxinkuckee Inn, Inc. With fresh enthusiasm, the new owners added two bathrooms on the second floor and five bedrooms and private baths on the first floor. A new lobby view was opened to the lake through a seven foot long "picture window".

Despite hard times caused by the Great Depression, the trustees sought to provide more lodging for patrons and friends. A structure called the Club House Hotel was relocated just west of the inn. [Renamed the Club, it provided 16 additional bedrooms and baths plus a friendly lobby. In 1933, a two-story structure north of the inn, formerly used for employee accommodations and garages, was relocated just west of the inn. as written] Renamed the Club it provided 16 additional rooms and baths plus a friendly lobby. In 1933, a two-story structure north of the inn, formerly used for employee accommodations and garages, was converted to hotel space. Called the Lodge, it opened that summer offering 28 additional bedrooms with private baths.

Two years later, as the growth trend continued, the Maxinkuckee Inn again under went extensive interior renovation. Six upstairs bedrooms were converted into baths so guests in each remaining bedroom would have private facilities.

The name Maxinkuckee Inn was changed to the present Culver Inn in the mid-1950's. Management of the facility, including the Payson Room and the 64 unit Culver Inn Motel erected in 1959, remain with the Maxinkuckee Inn, Inc., a wholly owned taxable, subsidiary of the Culver Educational Foundation.

1991 - March 27, Culver Citizen - as follows:
Culver Inn Slated
for demolition by
end of this week

The Culver Inn on the campus of the Culver Academies is expected to be torn down this week, following weeks of preparation.

Thursday is demolition day, although the wrecking ball may not actually topple the structure until Friday, according to Captain William Pippenger of the Culver Academies.

The historic Inn will be tore down because of financial operating losses at the restaurant in recent years.

"Despite a variety of endeavors by the Foundation to cut our losses at the Culver Inn, we have been unable to do so. Our initial attempts involved new menus, increased advertising and special events to increase revenues, but the steady decline has continued," according to Ralph N. Manuel, president of the Academies, in January.

He pointed out that the operating losses were $100,000 per year, with a loss in excess of $1 million for the past nine years.

The decision to tear down the Inn was made by the Board of Trustees of the Culver Educational Foundation.

It was not unexpected in the Culver Community, for there were visible signs, such as peeling paint, that the Inn was being allowed to physically deteriorate for the past several years.

Pippenger said that the demolition was expected to continue for some time.

In January Manuel pointed out that the demolition would indeed be complicated and costly, as there was asbestos in the building, and the roof and foundation were in very bad shape.

Last week the Culver Fire Department used the Culver Inn for training exercises, according to Culver -Union Township fire Department Chief Lance Overmyer.

Save from the demolition of the Culver in was the three pieces sign "The Culver Inn" by Jan Saunders, a former employee. She had it refurbished and did had it up for sale on e-bay in early 2006 and later in an antique store in downtown Culver .

It is in two or three pieces. Below is a cropped out version of how it was on the building.