8
I O
T R I U M P H E
The way we were D. TRUMPIE PHOTO
Remembering the Parker Inn’s heyday LIFE MAGAZINE PHOTOS COURTESY OF P. FOX
Munger Place, known to generations of Albion alumni
(At right and below)
as the Parker Inn, will be maintained as an apartment
Life magazine covered
and office building by the College, which recently
this father-daughter
purchased the property.
dance sponsored by Delta Zeta sorority at
College now owns former Parker Inn
the Parker Inn in the
Munger Place, the property known through most of its history as the Parker Inn, has become part of Albion College’s holdings under a purchase agreement reached in December 2003 by owner Rick Munger and Colchester Properties, Inc., a nonprofit, wholly owned subsidiary of Albion College for real estate interests. “Munger Place is one of Albion’s most attractive buildings with a proud heritage and valuable contemporary impact on the city,” said President Peter Mitchell. “We certainly did not want this landmark building to be purchased by an entity outside the city that might not have the same interest or concern for its being maintained as one of Albion’s treasures.” Opened in 1926 and named for local industrialist Harry Parker, the four-story hotel originally had 71 guest rooms, a public dining room and a grand ballroom. Located on Michigan Avenue (formerly U.S. 12) just a few blocks from Albion College’s campus, the Parker Inn attracted travelers on their way between Detroit and Chicago, as well as many College parents and visitors. With the construction of I-94, business at the hotel declined, and in the 1970s it was converted into an apartment and office building. In 1986 Albion businessman Rick Munger purchased the property and renamed it Munger Place. Mitchell affirmed the College’s dedication to maintaining a quality building while continuing to contribute positively to the Albion community. “The College is committed to help revitalize our community and to ensure a promising future for Albion,” he said. “Purchasing Munger Place, keeping it on the tax rolls, and maintaining the facility as a high-quality apartment complex for working adults who choose to be near the downtown and the College is a win-win for economic development and historic preservation.”
war,” the jukebox
mid-1940s. Since “the orchestra was out to
provided the evening’s music, supplemented by entertainment by the sorority members.
Like the madeleine in Marcel Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past, the Parker Inn, now known as Munger Place, evokes many memories of college days in Albion for these graduates.
J
ust after my high school graduation in 1952, my father, who had a private pilot’s license, asked if I would like to fly to Albion to check out the campus. I was already registered and accepted at Hope College, but thought the trip with my dad would be special, so I accepted his offer. We discovered that Albion did not have an airport, so we landed in Marshall where we were met by Frank Bonta, ’49, from the Admissions Office, and I started my Albion experience at Schuler’s for dinner. Then we went to the lovely old Parker Inn for the night (both on the College’s expense account!). The next morning we had a tour of the campus and that did it! I signed on the dotted line and have never been sorry. The next four years of my life at Albion were really special.