Harrington Hotel/Truman Honeymoon
The Harrington Hotel opened amid much fanfare in 1896. A unique blend of Romanesque, Classical, and Queen Anne architecture, the hotel thrived for many years. As business declined due to the popularity of automobile travel, expressways, and roadside motels, the hotel deteriorated. It eventually closed in 1986; a group of investors bought the structure that same year, converting it to housing for senior citizens.
The Harrington Hotel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. In May 1919 Harry S. Truman, the future thirty-third president of the United States, returned from duty in World War I. In June he married Bess Wallace. The couple spent part of their honeymoon in Port Huron. Truman’s daughter wrote in her biography of Bess, "For the rest of his life, whenever Harry Truman wanted to regain the radiance of those first days with Bess, he simply wrote ‘Port Huron.’ For him, it was a code word for happiness."
site number: L970
era: Industry and Invention (1875-1915)
year listed: 1981
year erected: 1981
