The History of The Northeastland Hotel

What is today one of the most prestigious Presque Isle hotels, now known as The Northeastland Hotel, originated as a wooden structure "house" aptly called The Presque Isle House. It was taken down by hand, stick by stick, in 1931. The brick structure that you see today was opened in 1932. The elevator, one of the first in Presque Isle, was built in 1950.

The first tenant of The Northeastland Hotel was Vincent Baressi, who owned and operated his barbershop until the early 1970s. The Coffee Shop, formerly a jewelry store, opened for business in 1950 and is currently known as The Sidewalk Café, although to some it will be forever known as "The Coffee Shop."

The roaring 20s were exciting for many people, but also for one of the hotel's most famous visitors a prize-winning local race horse named John R. Braden. He was once escorted into The Northeastland Hotel to have a feast with a crowd of on-lookers in the Red Room.

1953 brought a 30-room addition to the back of The Northeastland, expanding the potential occupancy to 80.

The Northeastland was owned and operated by many local stockholders until the 1970s, when Skippy Carroll of Carroll's Auto Sales bought out the majority of the stockholders and began operating the hotel himself. 1986 brought a new ownership when another local businessman, Joe Hedrich, Sr., and his four sons bought out Skippy Carroll.

With this new ownership came a full-scale interior facelift for The Northeastland Hotel. All guest rooms were gutted, and single rooms were made into double rooms, expanding the room size tremendously, and bringing the occupancy down from 80 rooms to 51 rooms. The Coffee Shop, Red Room, ballroom, lounge, conference rooms and lobby all had a new face, and old plumbing, piping and wiring were all updated to current standards. Now offering the most spacious Presque Isle lodging with a solid reputation for service and friendliness, The Northeastland Hotel maintains a faithful following of hotel guests.

The Northeastland Hotel has an incredible amount of history that goes along with it. Presidents and their families have passed through, and movie stars have been known to stay a night or two. The hotel is known as the political hub of the County, since most politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, schedule their press conferences in the lobby or in one of the banquet halls. Many different writers, comedians and politicians have mentioned the Northeastland in articles or commentary all over the country. You can go on eBay at any given time and find old memorabilia from the hotel. One of the most memorable features of the hotel is the group of businessmen who have, since the 1950s, made the "Coffee Shop" their home every morning for coffee. The small group that remains are all in their late 70s to early 90s, and have wonderful memories of the times that were.