Naniboujou Club Lodge

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Courtesy Paul Ramey

Name
Naniboujou Club Lodge
Designer
Holstead & Sullivan
Date
1929
Disciplines
  • Architecture

Situated along the North Shore of Minnesota on Lake Superior about 125 miles from Duluth, is the Nanaboujou Club (now a lodge), which sits on more than 3,000 acres of densely forested property. Envisioned as an exclusive club for members to enjoy the great outdoors with hunting, fishing, golfing, Naniboujou had the misfortune of opening just months before the Great Depression. Despite the membership of leading industrialists, politicians, and sports legends such as Babe Ruth and Jack Dempsey, the private club could not survive the economic crisis. It was eventually taken over by a resort business in the 1940s and has been run by different private families since the 1950s. Through concerned stewardship, the historic nature of the 1920s-era club remains largely intact, including the original 24 guest rooms, a sunroom lined with French doors off of a spectacular dining room that features colorful hand-painted motifs and a welcoming stone fireplace.