Maxinkuckee Inn  

PALMER HOUSE , NOW MAXINKUCKEE INN

New Management

Tavern Shop to Close Decembr 31; Hotel Has New Furnishings and Atmosphere

After being known as the Palmer House for 57 years, the well known hotel near the Academy is having its name changed to " Maxinkuckee Inn" in conformity with a change of management and policy. The change is effective December 1.

Miss Anne Ellsworth, who has been associated with the Tavern Shop for some time, will have personal supervision of the hotel, succeedeing F. S. Murphy, who has been manager of the Palmer House for about a year.

Not only has the hotel's name and management been changed, but so have its furnishings and policy in keeping with the plan to instill the atmosphere of a hospitable old inn instead of a formal hotel.

Comfortable new furniture in maple, a fine large window overlooking the lake and a grand fire place in the lounge, a new card room, redecorating and comfortably furnishing all the rooms, equipping of several rooms with bath and the placing of other bathrooms about the building are the main changes at the inn. It is expected that new rates will be announced in the near future.

Home cooking will be featured by the kitchen under the direction of Miss Opal Barkes of Lafayette, and the home atmosphere will be carried out by women waitresses in the dining room and The Shack.

The Tavern Shop, which has been operated in connection with the Palmer House, will be discontinued December 31, it has been announced, and the stock of clothing and gifts is being closed out. - Culver Citizen Nov. 30, 1932

PALMER HOUSE, Culver , NOW MAXINKUCKEE INN

Culver , Ind., Dec. 1. - After being known as the Palmer House for 57 years, the well known hotel near the Academy is having its name changed to " Maxinkuckee Inn" in conformity with a change of management and policy. The change was effective today.

Miss Anne Ellsworth, who has been associated with the Tavern Shop for some time, will have personal supervision of the hotel, superceding F. S. Murphy, who has been manager of the Palmer House for about a year.

Not only has the hotel's name and management been changed, but so have its furnishings and policy in keeping with the plan to instill the atmosphere of a hospitable old inn instead of a formal hotel.

Comfortable new furniture in maple, a fine large window overlooking the lake and a grand fire place in the lounge, a new card room, redecorating and comfortably furnishing all the rooms, equipping of several rooms with bath and the placing of other bathrooms about the building are the main changes at the inn. It is expected that new rates will be announced in the near future.

Home cooking will be featured by the kitchen under the direction of Miss Opal Barkes of Lafayette, and the home atmosphere will be carried out by women waitresses in the dining room and The Shack.

The Tavern Shop, which has been operated in connection with the Palmer House, will be discontinued December 31, it has been announced, and the stock of clothing and gists [gifts] is being closed out. - The News-Sentinel, Thursday, December 1, 1932
One of Indianapolis' foremost clothier, David Braden, Class of 1896, opened a mens' clothing store in the Tailor Shop in 1927 named the Toggery Shop. He fitted cadets with fine clothing including shoes by Churchs' of England, hats by Stetson, suits, tuxedos, and provided "specialized tailoring for the growing boy." In 1932, he move into the Maxinkuckee Inn. The Great Depression brought an end to this venture

The name was changed from the Palmer House as of 1 January 1933 to The Maxinkuckee Inn and was incorporated and the that name and remained under that name until March of 1954

In 1933 The Inn began to expanded as need for private baths was being required two more bathrooms were added to the second floor and also more five hotel rooms with baths were added to the ground floor.

1933 - Jan 21 - Maxinkuckee Inn Damaged by Fire

A fire, orginatinge in the Shack where construction work is in progress, caused damages amountinf to approximately $100 in one room of the Maxinkuckee Inn here late last night

The direct cause of the fire was ascertained to have been the overheating of the wall which divides the SHack from the Inn proper. proper.

Heat from which the brikcks of the fireplace which has recently beein constructed against this wall in the shack penetrated the asbestosprpotection and set fire to the wall board on the opposite side, which happens to be in the bathroom of one of the front rooms opening off of the porch.

SMoke penetrated into the loby about ten o'clcok, and the night man on duty immediately notified the Culver City fire departmenet.

Upon their arrival, the firemen used axes to chop a large hole in the wall in order that the seat of the conflagration might be gotten at and very shortly extinguished the blaze with water and chemicals. - Vedette

The "Shack" was re-opened as it had been closed for several years and the space had been lease out - as a men's clothing store called the "Toggery Shop" and "Tavern Shop" .

It expanded first with another building known as " The Club" which was acquired 1933, the Club House and Jungle Hotel, two summer establishments west of the Maxinkuckee Inn both were purchased by the Culver Reality and Investment Company. The Club House Hotel was moved next door to the Inn [75 feet southwest] being re-named: The Club and also known as the Maxinkuckee Inn Annex. 1933 - Feb. 15 - Club House Being Moved To Lake Edge

In Two Sections

Will Provide Improved Facilities For Academy Guests; Ready By Easter

In oder to improve the facilities available to visitors and guests of the Academy, the Club House is being moved to the lake shore along side of the Maxinkuckee Inn.

There the structure will be remodeled to provided sixteen rooms all with bath and will furnished.

It is expected that the work will be completed by Easter in order to help acomodate the large number of people who are always visiting the Academy at that time.

The new building, to be known as the Maxinkuckee Inn Annex, will be placed 75 feet southwest of the Inn proper, and to allow attractive landscaping will be situated at a considerable distance back from the lake, giving room for an attractive lawn, The numerous trees about the place will be utilized to add to the picturesque setting.



The Annex per the 1937 Sanborn Map marked "Club Ho"



In order to make room for the new Annex the two frame cottages next to the Inn are being torn down and the area will be cleared away by the end of this week and a basement built



1924 Sanborn maps marked with red X's



The Club House has been cut in two and one section is now being moved to its new location. This work was suspended last week by the storm, but the moving is being resumed this week and it is planned to have the first section on its new site by the end of the week.

Rooms and bathrooms will be added downstairs in all of the space not occupied by the lobby. New furnishings will add a further attraction, as will a pleasant fireplace in the lobby. The Annex will be heated by a central heating plant to be located in the Inn proper.

1933 - apr. 19 - Maxinkuckee In Annex Completed

Work on the Maxinkuckee Inn Annex, formerly the Club House, was completed Thursday.

The Annex consists of sixteen rooms, each with bath and twin beds

The lobby is equipped eith a large scenic window, similar to the one in Maxinkuckee Inn, and a large log fireplace.

New fixtures have been installed throughout. Special attention was paid to the beds and those installed are the most comfortable obtainable.

Occupants of the Annex will take their meals in the dinning room of the Maxinkuckee Inn which is but a few steps away.

It proved an immediate success.

Later came " The Lodge" with twenty-eight rooms with baths

Later 1933, a two-story building formerly used as an accommodation for inn employees, was remodeled and named The Lodge.

1933 - May 3 - To Remodel Garage at Maxinkuckee Inn
The former two-story annex to the Old Plamer House, which was occupied by sleeping rooms on the second floor and a a car storage on the first floors, is to be converted into an addition to the Maxinkuckee Inn. Extensive alterations will be made.

A lobby and a number of bed rooms will be installed in the first floor and the bed rooms on the second floor will be remodeled. Private baths for each room will be installed.

The space between this addition and the new annex east of the Inn's main building will be made into a garden and lawn.

An ad placed on Jun 7, 1933 stated" Must Sell Out - The building in which The Tavern Shop is located is to be torn down to permit additional improvements to the grounds about the Maxinkuckee Inn... Sale will start Monday June 1th but if you are in a hurry call Harry Speyer...

1935 - Feb 27 - Maxinkuckee Inn Is Undergoing Changes

Culver Cottage is to Be Made into Golfer's Hotel

Extensive changes are being made at the Maxinkuckee Inn and a remodeling program has been announced for the former K. K. Culver cottage that will greatly imrprove the hotel faciilities for those visiting the Academy or Lake Maxinkuckee.

The upstairs of the Maxinkuckee Inn is undergoing considerable alteration to provide better accomodations for Culver guests in the future. The partitions have been changed and the number of rooms decreased to make space for private baths for each of the bedrooms on the second floor. Ther will be sixteen rooms on that floor. Among the other changes are new furniture and decorations

With these improvements all the inn accomodations will have brought up-to-date in their furnishings and plumbing conviences, and the Inn management will be able to provide all its guests rooms with private baths.

Plan Fifteen Rooms

The former K. K. Culver cottage is to be made into an inn this spring. It is located on the east side of Lake Maxinkuckee and as it will be near the golf course it has already been named the Golf Club.

The home will be converted into a small inn with fifteen rooms, each with a private bath. There will be a large lounge equipped with furniture in the modernistic pattern.

The addition of the new Golf Club to the Inn's properties makes four modern hotel buildings available to the Inn's patrons and assures Culver visitors hotel service of the highest quality at all times, even during the holiday rushes at Easter and commencemnt.

1935 - Jun 19 - Maxinkuckee Inn to Change Plan of Rates

A change in plan of operation from the American to the European, effective June 21, had been announced by the Maxinkuckee Inn.

Single room rates will range from $2.25 tp $4.00; while double will be $3.25 to $7.00. All rooms now have twin beds and private baths.

Breakfast will be priced at 35c to 65c; luncheons at 50c to $1.00; and dinners form 75c to $1.25. Special buffett suppers will be served on Thursday and Sunday nights for 75c.

And in 1938 further expansion of it occurred with expansion to the west and they Became known as the "East Lodge" and " West Lodge" ; with 28 bedrooms and private baths. The Club was razed in 1959 and the East Lodge was demolished in 1960 and the West Lodge remained being used first for the band and then was remodeled in the 1970's and became " Linden Hall" which was razed in 2000

a view of the inside of the West Lodge from a postcard dated 1956.

1935 - feburary 27 - Extensive changes are being made at The Maxinkuckee Inn and a remodeling program has been announced for the K. K. Culver cottage which will be used as a golfer's hotel.

John P. Walter the former owner of the Palmer House died 18 Mach 1937

This is the area as given on the 1937 fire map

1935 - oct. 30 - Roof Fire Results In $400 Loss at Inn

Between $400 and $500 damage was done to the Lodge of the Maxinkuckee Inn Shortly before noon Friday when sparks from the chimney ignited the wooden shingles on the roof.

The fire was put out by empployess of the Inn who used a hose from a nearby hysdrant.

The Culver Fire Department was called buit the flalmes had been extinguished by the time the truck arrived.

While a hole was burned in the roof, the main loss was due to water damaging the ceiling and walls of the rooms on the second story.

Two or three rooms will have to be replastered as well as a possiblity that some furnishing will have to be replaced.

Insurance will cover the loss.

here are the matches advertising the Maxinkuckee Inn:



1944 - 23 February - Edward Payne Becomes Maxinkuckee Inn Mgr.

Edward F Payne Jr., of New York, become manager of the Maxinkuckee Inn last week, succeeding Miss Anne Ellsworth who will take a well earned vacation before taking a new position.

Mr. Payne has been in the hotel business for 12 years, coming here from Schrafti's. Previously Mr. and Mrs. Payne had operated an inn in Vermont.

1945 - Jun 13 - Resigns as Inn Manager - Edward F. Payne, manager of the Maxinkuckee Inn since early 1944, has resigned his postion to become head of the Charlotte, N. C. Country Club.

1946 - May 1 - Accpets Position At Inn

Robert Thomure has accepted a position at the Maxinkucee Inn, it has been announced by the management.

Mr. Thomoure began his new duties as desk man this past week.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Thomure recieved his discharge from the army air forces in the fall after seeing 34 months service with the Nintu Air Force in the European Theater of opersations.

1949 - Jan 19 - Barnes Company Gets $200,000 contract

The contract for a $200,000 addition to Maxinkuckee Inn at Culver, Ind. has been let to the James I. Barnes Construction company, with hime offices in Logansport, General Manager Fred. G. Drompp announced today.

Work is already underway on the hotel which is adjacent to Culver Military academy.

Additional rooms are being added, and the lobby and dining room are being enlarged and remodeled.

The contract is being handled through the Barnes office in Culver, of which Russell Easterday, is manager.

All remodeling work is expected to be completed by commencement week in June. New additions will be finished during the fall - Logansport Pharos-Tribune (Indiana)

1949 - Mar 23 - Remodeling Maxinkuckee Inn;

Plan to Erect New Addition

The Maxinkuckee Inn, one of the oldest landmarks on Lake Maxinkuckee, is undergoing extensive alteration with the additon of a new building scheduled to be erected in the near future.

Work is in progress on thorough alteration of the main building, a new unitl will be added to the Inn group during the summer.

Plans for remodeling the Inn formerly known as the Palmer House, will completely modernize the lake front hotel. When completed, it promises to be on of the most attractinve Northern Indiana Hotels.

Wedemyer and Hecker of St. Louis, are the architects and the construction work for remodeling and building the new unit is being done by the James I Barnes Construction Co., Russell Easteday, manager.

In the main building, the dinning room and lounge facilities are being enlarged to include all the space formerly occupied by the lake front entrance.. "Picture windows" along the lake side will form part of the decorative scheme. The seating capacity, it is estimated, will be increased twenty-five per cent. To the west of the enlarged dinign room, tje fprmer ;pbby is being converted to a lounge.

Other major changes provide for four double rooms to be added on the upper floor. An enlarged kitchen with completely new equipment and additional cold storage facilities will provide service for both the dining room and the Shack.

The contractors expect to complete work on the main building of the Inn by June 4, in time for use by guests here for commencement activities.

To the Lodge and the Annex 40 by 150 foot unit will be built.

This addition,located west of the Lodge, will provide "studio-bedroom" type accomodations for thirty guests. Included in the modern appointments will be ceramic tile baths and individual telephones for each room.

Present plans call for the completion of the entire building program by thanksgiving, 1949. - Citizen

1953 - 28 October - Maxinkuckee Inn Under New Management

Edwin W. Dybing Is Veteran of Hotel Administration

Edwin w. Dybing of cape Cod, Mass. has taken over the management of the Maxinkuckee Inn according to an announcement by officials of Maxinkuckee Inn, In., under whose management the 82-year-old establishment has been operated for the past 20 years/

Built in 1880, the Inn has long served as a resort center for Lake Maxinkuckee cottager and visitors and for the past 60 years it has been the center for Culver Military cadets and visitors.

Mr. Dybing, prominent New England innkeeper and widely known in Eastern hoterl management circles, is a native of Norway.

He has been in hotel management work for the past 32 years and has operations in New England and Flordia

Owner of the Wequassett Inn on Cape Cod, he plans to remain at the Inn here during the winter. While his plans are not complete it was indicated that Mrs. Dybing and his 10 year old daughter Sally, will join him in Culver soon.

A director of the Massachuessetts Hotel Association and the American Hoel Association, he is a member of the Boston Epicurean Club and Vatal Epicurean Club of New York City. He is also a member of the St. Martin F & A. M. of Chatham, Mass.

For the past five years Betty Sheeterly has been manager of the Inn. Her plans have not been announced.

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Palmer House ~~ Maxinkuxkee Inn ~~ Culver Inn ~~ Culver Motels ~~ Candy Shop / Shack