Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region

The Mackinac Straits region with its scenic attractions natural wonders has beckoned visitors and tourists for over 150 years. Vintage Views of the Mackinac Straits Region is a pictorial history of this northern Michigan vacation hub. The book uses “vintage views” to portray Mackinaw City, St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, the car ferries, and the famous Mackinac Bridge.

The book focuses on the history of vacationing and tourism. The story is told using old newspapers, travel brochures, advertisements, maps, and messages from the backs of postcards. Quotations from these historical sources are paired with vintage photographs, postcards or illustrations, describing the scene as it was depicted at the time. These early promotional materials with their flowery language and exaggerated attributes were often a visitor's first exposure to the region. Postcard messages invite the contemporary reader to step back in time and take peek at someone else's vacation, sharing the joy with the visitor who wrote, “It's so beautiful here! Almost a dream world. Wish we could stay all summer. Are having the time of our lives.”

This book presents a glimpse of vacation life from early tourists visiting Mackinac Island in the 19th century to the boom in tourism when the Mackinac Bridge opened in 1957. “Vintage views” are presented of early hotels on Mackinac Island, mom and pop cabins of the 1940s and 50s and other tourist destinations and attractions. The spectrum ranges from natural wonders such as Arch Rock on Mackinac Island to the still-popular Mystery Spot.