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There were no flush toilets in 1890—or electric lights, but there were huckleberry pancakes—and there were cedar-paneled rooms filled with a delicious 19th-century commodity: silence.
The very best part of staying in the
Old Northern Inn is that, with the
exception of a few modern luxuries, it takes you right back to 1890.
That's the year that this old hotel was built. Now restored as a bed-and-breakfast,
it offers not only a respite from the stress of life in these modern
times,
but also an escape from the entire 20th and 21st centuries.
The
Old Northern Inn opened in the summer of 1993 after standing vacant for
most of the previous decade. Purchased and completely restored by Phil
and Lorraine Battaglia, the venerable old building shed its earlier incarnations
as Houdini's and Capt. Eddy's restaurants and returned to its original
splendor when it first opened as the Northern Hotel.
Back in those days of the late 1800s, miners, vacationers and honeymooners
could take a train from Spokane to Priest River. From Priest River it
was a three-hour (and often longer) stagecoach ride to Priest Lake. The
journey is much faster, though perhaps less romantic, these days. Tourists
now arrive from all parts of the nation, and often from foreign countries
also. Many of those who honeymooned at the hotel in the 1940s & '50s
now return for a nostalgic stay to revisit fond memories. These couples
marvel at the authentic restoration. Others have scheduled family or
friendship reunions at the Inn and the increasing popularity of the Inn
has made early reservations an everincreasing necessity.
It
is easy to see why word about the Inn has traveled fast. For one thing,
the Inn is one of the few lodging establishments on Priest Lake that
can accommodate overnight guests. Most resorts on the lake book only
by the week during the high summer season.
The Inn features a large living room, filled with books, antiques and a huge
stone fireplace. The mahogany mantel is inscribed, "Warm your hands and
warm
our hearts" which truly describes the hospitality extended to the Inn's
guests.
The
restoration work required matching original cedar paneling, adding
additional
doors and windows to bring in light, and scraping off no fewer than
eleven coats of paint and varnish to reveal the original floor planks.
The Inn accommodations consist of three rooms and a suite upstairs
and an additional suite and room downstairs, both with a private
entrance from
the outside. Each of the suites and rooms is aptly named for a geographic
feature of Priest Lake. All are decorated with handsome period antiques
coupled with old lake cabin furnishings. Several pieces have been
hand painted
with scenes of fisherman, huckleberries, wildflowers, pine trees,
etc. Numerous handcrafted quilts also accentuate the decor of the
rooms.
Outdoors, the Inn features a private dock where guests can swim and moor
their boats. The large deck in front of the Inn overlooks the southern
end of the lake
and has
shaded
picnic
tables,
lounge chairs, and benches. A stone fire pit on the deck is a perfect
place to relax and chat with fellow guests before a summer evening fire.
Room rates include breakfast for two featuring huckleberry pancakes, fresh muffins and fruit, and freshly squeezed juice. In the afternoon, wine is served with fruit and cheese.
The Old Northern Inn is the perfect place for sinking into a 19th-century reverie.
