Two blocks from the Aerial Lift Bridge. Three rooms overlook the canal. A card under your door names the ships.
Rooms from $219 a night · breakfast and parking included
The exchange is three floors around a brick courtyard. Which side of the building a room is on decides its view, its size and its price. Every room has its own bathroom and the original tall windows.
Ore boats up to a thousand feet long, and ocean ships from the Atlantic, come and go through the canal from late March to mid January. The bridge rises for every one of them.
As a ship comes in, its captain gives the salute: one long blast and two short. The bridge answers with the same. From a Bridge room you can see both.
| Vessel | Length | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Paul R. Tregurtha | 1,013 ft | 7:40 am |
| Arthur M. Anderson | 767 ft | 11:15 am |
| An ocean ship, inbound from the Seaway | Not posted | 3:30 pm |
| Edwin H. Gott | 1,004 ft | 9:05 pm |
An example card. Real times are taken from the port each morning and change with the weather.
The room rate covers these. The only thing added at the desk is Duluth’s lodging tax of 13.875%.
The lounge was the switchboard room. Its 42-position board stayed where the operators left it, and the room numbers still use the exchange names: RAndolph, MElrose, HEmlock, JAckson.
Ingrid Halvorsen spent eleven seasons as a purser on Great Lakes ships. Teo Marsh is a preservation carpenter. They spent four years restoring the building before the first guest stayed.
Fill in the ticket. Ingrid or the desk confirms by email within a few hours, with the room number. Or ring the desk, 7 am to 11 pm.