By James Windell
Scott Whiteford has spent years restoring the historic Hotel Nichols in downtown South Haven.
After purchasing the 100-year-old hotel in 2017, he continued working his regular daytime job and then went directly to the hotel to work at restoring it to its original elegance.
“I just love the building so much,” Whiteford says, “and being placed on the National Register of Historic Places was just icing on the cake.”
The Hotel Nichols was one of 13 properties in Michigan to receive the honor of being designated as a building with historic significance in 2025.
State Historic Preservation Officer Ryan Schumaker in making the announcement of the latest properties to be so honored said, “Listing in the National Register opens opportunities for economic investment and ensures that significant places from the past continue to contribute to their community’s unique character.”
More than 100,000 properties across the country, including nearly 2,000 in Michigan, have been listed in the National Register since the program began in the 1960s. The National Register is a program of the National Park Service and is administered by the states. The Hotel Nichols is only the third building in South Haven to receive this designation.
“This designation is incredibly important to the building, our team, and everyone in the community,” Whiteford said in a recent interview at Hotel Nichols, located at 201 Center Street. “The amount of history that has occurred within these walls for over 150 years can be felt in each footstep we take. Being on the Register will allow future generations to truly appreciate what we affectionately call our very own ‘living, breathing, museum.’”
Taking a tour of the hotel with Whiteford reveals his love for the building and the history associated with the hotel. He has anecdotes about many of the 19 rooms in the restored hotel. Both the original owners of the hotel (the Websters) and the second owners (the Nichols) used rooms for living quarters and offices. Whiteford points with pride at the restoration that he and his crew have done to bring the rooms up to date.
Among the accomplishments in the last several years is raising ceilings, adding bathrooms to every room, and refinishing the original woodwork throughout the building.
“I love all the original woodwork throughout the entire building,” Whiteford said. “They used a lot of wood back then and this makes everything feel so warm and cozy.”
He pointed out the largest suite in the building is a three-bedroom apartment with a kitchen and bedroom. That suite, Whiteford found out, had three ceilings. “Over the years there were roof leaks and those leaks were dealt with by putting up one ceiling after another,” he said. He also said that the roof on the 1884 building had never been replaced and replacing the roof was a huge project.
Opened in 1925, Hotel Nichols was a hotel for people looking for lodging since it was situated just across the street from the steamship docks and around the corner from a railroad station. The original owner, E.C. Webster, also operated an artificial ice plant and an ice cream factory before expanding his business as a hotelier. The hotel also included the local Western Union office. Being placed on the Historic Register helps to recognize a building that reflects an important period in South Haven’s history.
“The best kinds of history lessons are those that you can not only touch and feel with your own two hands, but those that are still functioning in relatively the same state for over 100 years!” Whiteford said. “We just couldn’t be more excited to call ourselves the current ‘stewards’ of this amazing structure and we take it extremely seriously in ensuring that it continues operating for another 100 years.”
