A northern light on the shore of Lake Superior

Article by: KERRI WESTENBERG , Star Tribune
Updated: July 24, 2010 - 12:42 PM

Naniboujou, born as a private club, welcomes and delights all.

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Guests enjoy dinner at the Naniboujou Lodge in the Great Hall. It is decorated with Cree Indian designs and were first painted by designer Antoine Gouffee.

Photo: Richard Tsong -Taatarii, Star Tribune

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Up past Grand Marais on Hwy. 61, where traffic thins and a stretch of roadway runs right along wild Lake Superior, an oversize sign announces Naniboujou Lodge. Up the driveway, the cedar-shingle, two-story building -- bedecked with yellow and red shutters, flapping flags and Art Deco light fixtures -- occupies a wide lawn stretching out before the endless lake.

None of it prepares you for the resplendent show inside.

Just off the small lobby, the main lodge room still astounds with its almost garish colors and psychedelic artwork. Cree Indian designs cover the cavernous room, from the zigzag-adorned domed ceiling (made to resemble a canoe) to the walls lined with totem figures. On the west end, a stone fireplace -- made with 200 tons of native rock -- climbs 20 feet high.

The hallmark room, now used for dining, was the centerpiece of a private club that opened in July 1929. In those heady days -- just months before the stock market crash that ushered in the Great Depression -- there were plans for tennis courts, a bath house and a golf course. Within a decade, the club was disbanded and a hotel chain took over its one showcase building.

The lodge still shines. The dining room, where the food almost matches the splendor of the surroundings, is a popular spot for Sunday brunch. Fortunately, the gorgeous, onetime home of an exclusive club -- on an unparalleled expanse of Lake Superior -- welcomes us all.

IF YOU GO

Naniboujou Lodge is off Hwy. 61, 15 miles northeast of Grand Marais. Rooms are simple, with no TVs or phones; some have fireplaces. Nightly rates range from $74 to $109. For more info: www.naniboujou.com; 1-218-387-2688.