Michillinda Lodge

Michillinda Lodge is a summer resort on the Lake Michigan shoreline in Whitehall, Michigan. Its current property was purchased in 1894 by a group of leaseholders and investors from Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, and named "MICH-ILL-INDA" in reference to those states in 1902. Originally a residential beach association, in 1920 Emanuel "Manny" Duttenhofer purchased an 18-room, 13,000sqft summer house on the site, which he subsequently opened as a resort.Between 1920 and 2000, the Lodge was owned and operated by only three families—those of Duttenhofer and his sisters, Ray and Frances Johansen, and Don Eilers—and it developed slowly as both new buildings and activities were gradually debuted. In 2000, the Eilers family sold the Lodge to the investment group Promised Land LLC, which initially proposed the development of a "cottage community" on the site with 36 houses, cottages, and townhouses, although its plan was ultimately rejected by local officials.On December 2, 2012, the original lodge was completely destroyed in a fire. No one was injured and none of Michillinda's other buildings were severely damaged, although the total losses were estimated in the "millions" of dollars. After being sold to Parkland Properties and developer Jon Rooks in September 2013, Michillinda Lodge reopened to the public in October 2013. As of January 2014, the resort's future directions are still undecided: while plans for rebuilding the lodge on its former footprint have been proposed, the redevelopment of the surviving buildings into either single-family "site condominiums" or weekly vacation rentals are also possibilities.