Mackinac Island ยท Main Street
Island House Hotel
Charles O'Malley's 1852 hotel on Main Street, the oldest building on the island built as a hotel, per the National Historic Landmark nomination.
- Built
- 1852Built 1852 as a hotel, the oldest on the island built for that purpose (NHL nomination); west wing 1895, east wing ca. 1900 (NHL) or 1912 (hotel); later rear additions.
- Style
- Victorian; Queen Anne west wing with corner tower
- Type
- Inn
- Rooms
- 94
- Area
- Main Street
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district; Historic Hotels of America member; Local landmark
The story
Charles O’Malley built the original Island House in 1852 (Cloghaun B&B family history), and the NHL nomination calls it the island’s oldest building constructed as a hotel. Great Lakes captain Henry Van Allen acquired it in 1865; his daughter, Mrs. Rose Van Allen Webster, ran it and added the wings, keeping it until her death in 1938. The Moral Re-Armament movement leased the hotel for six years before buying land at Mission Point in 1951. After a two-year restoration the Ryba-Callewaert family reopened the main building and west wing on June 23, 1972, and the east wing in 1973.
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Elevator
- No pets
- Address: 6966 Main Street, Mackinac Island, MI 49757
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.