postcard
Catalog Number
2022.49.1Description
Postcard showing a portion of the parking lot beside the beach at Ottawa Beach in Park Township, Ottawa Co., MIThe lighthouse is visible in the background.
History
Ottawa Beach is the name given to the area along the north side of the channel and northwest section of Lake Macatawa, in Park Township. It received its name in 1886 with the construction of the hotel Ottawa, built on a hillside near the beach.The Ottawa Beach Hotel (originally known as the Hotel Ottawa) was built by the West Michigan Park Association (a group organized in Grand Rapids in 1885) in the summer of 1886 on the north side of the channel, on a bluff. Across the channel, on the south side, was the rival Macatawa Park Hotel.
The Ottawa Beach Hotel burned to the ground on November 6, 1923.
Holland State Park is located within the area known as Ottawa Beach and has at times been referred to as Ottawa Beach State Park.