Lakeshore Inn – Port Austin’s Speakeasy, Ballroom, and Final Blaze

In this episode of End of the Road in Michigan, we trace the long, colorful life of Port Austin’s iconic Lakeside Inn — a building that began as Huron County’s temporary courthouse in the 1860s and ended in a fiery blaze more than a century later.

From its Prohibition-era notoriety as a raided speakeasy to its golden age in the 1930s under Charles Finzel, the Lakeside Inn was once the Thumb’s premier entertainment venue. Big bands, roller-skating, political rallies, and poetry readings filled its lakeside pavilion — affectionately known as “The Fun Center.”

But in July 1967, it all went up in smoke. Join us as we recount the story of a building that mirrored Michigan’s changing times — and left behind a legacy that still echoes through the village of Port Austin.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is end of the road in Michigan, where forgotten places find their voice again.

(00:04):
Today's story takes us to the quiet shores of Lake Huron, to a village perched on the
edge of Michigan's thumb, Port Austin.
If you visit today, you'll find charming cottages, a peaceful harbor, and a sense of calm
that only the lake can deliver.
But once, this lakeside village pulsed with music, dancing, laughter, and the low whispers
of prohibition, at the heart of it all stood one building parched overlooking the harbor.

(00:27):
The lakeside in.
Fort was a hotel, it was a courthouse, back in 1864, a fire destroyed the Huron County
Courthouse in San Beach, what we now call Harbor Beach.
The county needed a new temporary seat of government, and Port Austin got the nod.
For nearly a decade, county officials met in a simple building near the waterfront.
From the mid-1860s to the early 1870s, that building served as the courthouse, the records

(00:51):
office, and the center of county business.
After the government moved inland to Badax in 1873, the building's purpose changed.
It became a hotel.
Over time, it carried several names, the Williams Hotel, among others, but it would be remembered
best as the lakeside in.
By the 1920s, the lakeside in had a reputation, not for its views, not for its rooms, but for

(01:14):
its booze.
It was prohibition, and the hotel had become a well-known speakeasy.
Rated four times in 1927 alone, federal agents regularly seized crates of beer and liquor.
The in-zone at the time, Minnie Stinson, tried to dodge legal trouble by signing the deed
over to her daughter, but the law caught up.
That same year, the courts padlocked the doors and declared the lakeside in a public nuisance.

(01:36):
By 1928, new ownership brought in fresh furniture and fresh hope.
But the days of bootlegging were done, at least publicly.
The lakeside in went quiet until prohibition ended in 1933, then came Charles Finsel.
In the mid-1930s, Finsel took over the hotel, and for the next decade, the lakeside
inn would earn its reputation as the Thumbs' favorite gathering place.

(01:58):
He renamed it Finsel's lakeside inn, and he knew how to draw a crowd.
The lakeside pavilion, added in the 1920s, came to life under Finsel.
It was a roller skating rink by day, a dance hall by night.
Big bands from Detroit and beyond performed under the lights, and weekend nights became
a whos who of Thum area nightlife.
They called it the fun center, and that's exactly what it was.

(02:19):
But Finsel brought more than music.
Michigan Governor Frank Murphy gave a speech there.
Edgar Guest, the people's poet and famous NBC radio broadcaster, Gava Reading, politicians,
entertainers, and everyday folks filled the pavilion week after week.
For 10 years, Finsel's lakeside inn was the social heart of Port Austin.
Finsel retired in the early 1940s due to poor health.

(02:41):
He passed away in 1942.
The inn changed hands again, but that golden era had passed, then came 1967.
On the morning of July 2nd just after 4am, Lakeside inn owner Leon Rans was jolted
awake, not by an alarm, but by his barking dog.
Smoke filled the air.
Flames were rising fast.
The fire started in the tavern, but it spread quickly through the walls, into the dance

(03:04):
pavilion, and across the structure like a fuse.
Rans barely escaped.
Fire crews arrived, but it was too late.
By sunrise, Lakeside inn was gone.
The damage was estimated at $50,000, but what was lost couldn't be measured in dollars.
Generations had passed through that building.
Couples met there.
Families skated there.
Politicians rallied there.

(03:25):
History happened there.
It was like losing an old friend, one resident said later.
The rubble was cleared.
The shoreline was quiet again, but the lakeside inn still lives, in stories, in photos, and
in the memories of those who danced under its roof, or snuck a drink when the law said no,
from courthouse to hotel, from speakeasy to ballroom, and finally, two ashes.

(03:45):
This was Lakeside inn.
This is end of the road in Michigan.
If you enjoyed this story, please share it, rate the podcast, and subscribe for more voices
from Michigan's past.
Until next time, stay curious, and stay on the road.