Belvedere Club
The Belvedere Club, founded in 1878 by Baptists from Kalamazoo, Michigan as the Charlevoix Resort Association, occupies land on the southeast corner of Round Lake, the south side of the upper channel, and around on Lake Charlevoix. Above the railroad trestle is the land called Breezy Point. The indentation in the shoreline above this, the Belvedere Bayou, holds the resort’s boathouses. Across Ferry Avenue from the hotel, next to the trestle, is the Belvedere Casino, the resort’s clubhouse and social center, built in 1923.
This was the first structure erected on the Belvedere. It housed building tools and bunks for workmen or visiting member overseers during the construction of the first six cottages in 1878 and the club/boarding house in 1879. Originally it was called The Midget, then The Morgue amongst other names. In later days it became a tool shed and children’s playhouse. The men look like they’re enjoying a brew, but the alcohol ostensibly being imbibed here may only be grape juice, for the Baptist-oriented resort was dry for many years after its founding.
By the end of 1878, five resort cottages were complete on the upper terrace, and one on the lower. Many more followed in swift order over the next few years. In 1892, the members reorganized into the Charlevoix Summer Home Association, known by that name until 1923 when the whole resort became “Belvedere.”
Soon after the founding of the resort, O. E. Allen of Kalamazoo constructed what came to be known as Blue Belle cottage at a slight distance from the others, west around the corner on what would become Belvedere Avenue. An ardent Mason, Allen designed the house on a variant of the Maltese Cross, a Masonic symbol. The quadrilateral plan allowed plenty of balconies and porches to almost surround the structure. Here, resort members celebrate the 4th of July.
Tennis, anyone? Belvedere members enjoy a match or two on a warm summer day
In the earliest days, the easiest way for Belvedere resorters to reach downtown was by boat. Both the Belvedere and the Chicago Club across the upper channel petitioned the city for their own dock space, since the existing wharves and docks were too high. So the city designated the Clinton Street dock for the exclusive use of the resorters and built lower facilities for them. Every summer Sunday morning, a flotilla of boats left from the clubs to cross Round Lake, everyone dressed in their Sunday best as they headed for church. Here, a party prepares to shove off from the Belvedere Bayou.