{"id":430,"date":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-26T20:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/?p=430"},"modified":"2025-09-09T22:57:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T22:57:50","slug":"wildwood-inn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wildwood-inn\/","title":{"rendered":"The Wildwood Inn (1913–c.1925)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Wildwood Inn sign on Grand River Avenue, 1924.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lulu M. and Iza Bell Smith, sisters born in Pennsylvania circa 1875 and 1877 respectively, moved with their parents to Michigan around the turn of the century and by 1910 were living with them in north Lansing. In 1913, the \u201cMisses Smith\u201d opened the Wildwood Tea Room in the newly completed apartment building of the same name<\/a> located on the northeast corner of Abbot Road and Albert Avenue. Serving lunches and dinners, they quickly built a reputation for delicious, quality meals at fair prices. They also catered to private parties such as alumni luncheons and society (fraternity) banquets.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From October 1918 to September 1919, this little advertisement appeared weekly in the M.A.C. Record<\/em>. After April 1919 it was erroneously directing the Wildwood\u2019s potential customers to Higgs\u2019 cafe instead. An updated ad never ran. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In March 1918, the Smith sisters had an opportunity to take over the operation of one of their main competitors, the College Cafe on Grand River Avenue, when its proprietor Edwin Higgs left to become the steward of the Kerns Hotel in downtown Lansing.†<\/a><\/sup> Although the M.A.C. Record<\/em> says they \u201cpurchased the College Cafe,\u201d it seems that the arrangement was not an outright sale because only a year later, Higgs returned and took over the business again.2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Undaunted, Lulu and Iza Bell immediately reopened and expanded their own business, putting the \u201cWildwood Cafe\u201d into the east half of the Dickson block (see C. M. Dickson<\/a>) at 322 Grand River and the \u201cWildwood Tea Rooms\u201d next door at 324 Grand River, the house known today as the Rugg house<\/a>. (The city renumbering in 1920 changed these addresses to 139 and 201 East Grand River, respectively.) The tea rooms only lasted a year or two before their house was moved to Grove Street, but the Wildwood Cafe remained a very popular spot, both for regular meal service and for private parties.3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was the heyday of locally owned M.A.C. eateries. Williams Hall<\/a> had burned down in 1919, Abbot Hall<\/a> had become women\u2019s housing again in 1920, and eighty percent of the male student body was living off-campus and \u201ceating at such places as the Wildwood Cafeteria, Ed Higgs\u2019 College Cafe, or the College Drug.\u201d Any restaurant putting out decent fare in the vicinity of the College should have realized a booming business, and the Wildwood was no exception: \u201cthey built up a terrific business there because they ran a really good cafeteria.\u201d But in 1922, thanks to some simple miscalculations\u2014and a savvy competitor\u2014it all went wrong for the Smith sisters.4<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As mentioned, the Rugg house was moved from its Grand River Avenue site around 1921. This cleared the way for a new commercial block built by developer James A. Hicks. The two-story building, addressed as 201\u2013209 East Grand River, had five retail spaces at street level with apartments above. Hicks fitted out two of the apartments as a restaurant space and talked the Smiths into moving their business, renamed as the \u201cWildwood Inn,\u201d upstairs in late March 1922.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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J. A. Hicks Block and other buildings on East Grand River Avenue, 1924.††<\/a><\/sup> Captioned as \u201cThe Outskirts of Town\u201d in Miller<\/a>, p. 56, although the city limits were several blocks further east of here. The sign for the Wildwood Inn, touting \u201ccafeteria & table service,\u201d is third from left. Also shown are the interurban tracks<\/a> looking worn in their last years of operation, the Elms<\/a> in their prime, and of course the odd sight of parking along Grand River Avenue. Image source: MSU Archives<\/a><\/span>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Today the Hicks building is gone, demolished in late 2017 for the Center City development. That project name is so appropriate for the locale, it is almost hard to imagine that a century ago the 200 block of East Grand River was considered to be the \u201coutskirts\u201d of the commercial district. Most businesses were massed near the corner of Abbot Road. Beyond M.A.C. Avenue, less than half a block east of the Hicks building, Grand River Avenue was almost completely residential.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Smith sisters might have gotten a good lease price from James Hicks, but they must not have factored in the lesser quality of the location, down the street and up the stairs. Moreover, they made two fateful mistakes with their move. First, they transfered into the Hicks block during the term break, when few of their usual customers were around to take notice. Second and worse, \u201cthey weren\u2019t sharp enough to retain their old lease until they found out how the upstairs restaurant would go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as the Smiths moved out\u2014in fact, during that very same term break in March 1922\u2014another pair of sisters, Ada and Clara Hunt, moved into the Wildwood\u2019s old space at 139 East Grand River and opened the Hunt Food Shop.6<\/a><\/sup> According to Charles Washburn, who operated a cigar shop and billiard hall in the Hicks building for many years, when students and staff returned to campus in early April for the spring term, they:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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walked right in the old place and didn\u2019t bother to climb the stairs to the Smith sisters\u2019 upstairs restaurant. The new Hunt Food Shop had awfully good food, and the result was that the Smith sisters were out of business inside a year. And the Hunt Food Shop went on to become one of the most famous restaurants anywhere around here.<\/p>\nCharles Washburn, quoted in Kestenbaum<\/a>, pp. 140\u2013141.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInside a year\u201d is a bit of an overstatement. For instance, the honorary veterinary fraternity Alpha Psi held their initiation banquet at the Wildwood in February 1925\u2014three years after the move.\u00a0The Wildwood Inn was listed in the 1925 Lansing City Directory<\/em> and advertised in that year’s East Lansing High School Ceniad<\/em> yearbook, but it was not around for long after that. By 1927, the Wildwood Inn was gone from East Lansing, and so were the Misses Smith.7<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 1930, both sisters were living in Pasadena, California, and employed as live-in housekeepers in different private homes. They continued to work as such into at least their sixties, later sharing an apartment in a rooming house. Lulu died in 1947 at age 73. Iza Bell returned to Michigan, died in 1958 at age 81, and was interred alongside her parents at Mount Hope Cemetery.8<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, their business acumen was not as proficient as their cooking, and today the Smith sisters are a mere footnote in East Lansing history. Thanks to a few minor missteps\u2014first taking a year-long hiatus from the Wildwood name, then later moving just a little too far off the beaten path, inadvertently making their move in secret, and worst of all leaving the door open for the competition, both literally and figuratively\u2014their popular establishment never reached anywhere near its potential. But for about a dozen years, Lulu and Iza Bell Smith kept the bellies of the Michigan Agricultural College well fed.<\/p>\n\n\n

  1. US Census (1910).\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 19(4), 21\u00a0Oct\u00a01913, p.\u00a02. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. MAC Record<\/a>, 23(26), 29\u00a0Mar\u00a01918, p.\u00a09; 24(2), 11\u00a0Oct\u00a01918, p.\u00a02; 24(26), 18\u00a0Apr\u00a01919, p.\u00a03. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1919), p.\u00a0869.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 24(26), 18\u00a0Apr\u00a01919, p.\u00a03; 25(13), 19\u00a0Dec\u00a01919, p.\u00a03. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0325. Charles Washburn, quoted in\u00a0Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0140. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. Sanborn<\/a>\u00a0(1926), pp.\u00a0268\u2013273. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. MAC Record<\/a>, 27(24), 7\u00a0Apr\u00a01922, p.\u00a03. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  7. LSJ<\/a>, 13\u00a0Feb\u00a01925, p.\u00a021.\u00a0LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1925), pp.\u00a0635, 636, 770; (1927), p.\u00a0825. Ceniad (1925), p. 85. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  8. US Census (1930, 1940). Pasadena Independent, 2\u00a0Jan\u00a01948, p.\u00a039. Detroit Free Press, 6\u00a0Nov\u00a01958, p.\u00a030. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>
    1. † The Kerns Hotel is mostly remembered today for having been the site of the worst fire disaster in the history of Lansing. The four-story, 211-room hotel at 114 N. Grand Avenue burned down in December 1934, killing thirty-four people including seven state legislators.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li>
    2. †† @CityofEL<\/a> tweeted this image on May 3, 2018, captioned \u201ccirca 1929.\u201d MSU Archives<\/a><\/span> are less equivocal, flatly stating 1929. However, the Grand River Avenue boulevard was opened by December 1924, after which the lanes seen here were westbound (toward the camera) only. Since the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (its sign partly visible at far left) moved to this location in February 1924, this author is certain that the correct date is 1924. Sources: MAC Record, 30(12), 8 Dec 1924, p. 183; LSJ, 29 Feb 1924, p. 21.\u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Lulu M. and Iza Bell Smith, sisters born in Pennsylvania circa 1875 and 1877 respectively, moved with their parents to Michigan around the turn of the century and by 1910 were living with them in north Lansing. In 1913, the \u201cMisses Smith\u201d opened the Wildwood Tea Room in the newly completed apartment building of the same […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"[{\"content\":\"US Census (1910).\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 19(4), 21\u00a0Oct\u00a01913, p.\u00a02.\",\"id\":\"fffa8f78-d28a-40a8-9651-ffc3f4b969c5\"},{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 23(26), 29\u00a0Mar\u00a01918, p.\u00a09; 24(2), 11\u00a0Oct\u00a01918, p.\u00a02; 24(26), 18\u00a0Apr\u00a01919, p.\u00a03.\",\"id\":\"29393fee-974b-4168-a8b5-4a48827a5b17\"},{\"content\":\"LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1919), p.\u00a0869.\u00a0MAC Record<\/a>, 24(26), 18\u00a0Apr\u00a01919, p.\u00a03; 25(13), 19\u00a0Dec\u00a01919, p.\u00a03.\",\"id\":\"7d40a214-49e2-4a65-baad-877950aa1526\"},{\"content\":\"Kuhn<\/a>, p.\u00a0325. Charles Washburn, quoted in\u00a0Kestenbaum<\/a>, p.\u00a0140.\",\"id\":\"b43d4a6e-62e1-42b3-8d79-60e09185d919\"},{\"content\":\"Sanborn<\/a>\u00a0(1926), pp.\u00a0268\u2013273.\",\"id\":\"8b234cb1-f015-439c-a065-1cb5e1933422\"},{\"content\":\"MAC Record<\/a>, 27(24), 7\u00a0Apr\u00a01922, p.\u00a03.\",\"id\":\"58bbdb1a-eaa8-4aef-9b3e-12c4df02ecc9\"},{\"content\":\"LSJ<\/a>, 13\u00a0Feb\u00a01925, p.\u00a021.\u00a0LCD<\/a>\u00a0(1925), pp.\u00a0635, 636, 770; (1927), p.\u00a0825. Ceniad (1925), p. 85.\",\"id\":\"78c370fb-9cbc-4434-8d75-522d33e77a4f\"},{\"content\":\"US Census (1930, 1940). Pasadena Independent, 2\u00a0Jan\u00a01948, p.\u00a039. Detroit Free Press, 6\u00a0Nov\u00a01958, p.\u00a030.\",\"id\":\"4b86facf-06b4-47f6-a288-531886e22504\"}]"},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-losteastlansing"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5102,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430\/revisions\/5102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kevinforsyth.net\/ELMAC\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}