Blossom Heath Inn

Matthew Kramer, a hotelier and yachtsman, built this roadhouse in 1911 and named it the Kramerhof. In 1920, William McIntosh bought the building, renamed it the Blossom Heath Inn, and added two large wings that included an ornate ballroom. It became one of Michigan's most luxurious roadhouses, attracting crowds from Detroit and Canada to hear nationally known big bands such as Ben Pollack's. During Prohibition and the Depression, it became notorious for illegal drinking and gambling. After McIntosh's death in 1930, his heirs ran the roadhouse, but by the late 1930s the heyday of roadhouses had ended, and it was sold in 1943. After falling into disuse, the village of St. Clair Shores bought it in 1946, reopened it as a civic center on May 19, 1946, with village offices in the north wing, and made it the St. Clair Shores Recreation Center in 1957.

St. Clair Shores, Michigan · United States