This is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. It was called the Rainbow Inn. Located on the southern edge of Petoskey, it was Northern Michigan's only African American resort hotel and restaurant. Its clientele included people of all races, colors and creeds. The Rainbow inn opened in 1950 and was the brainchild of William Thomas west, an African American porter and chef on the Pennsylvania, Ohio and Detroit Railroad. The railroad provided passenger service to Petoskey, Harbor Springs and Mackinaw City. During the mid 20th century. West, a 25 year veteran of the rail company, lived in northern Michigan during the summer season. He knew firsthand that many hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the north were just as segregated as their Southern counterparts. In 1949, west bought a three story boarding house and carriage house near the railroad tracks in Petoskey. The boarding house was originally built in the 1880s as a mansion for Frederick Bowerly, a wealthy wooden ware manufacturer. It was located in what people called Hungry Hollow, where many Native Americans lived. West took his retirement savings and bought the building on a land contract. He and his wife Gail spent the next year remodeling it and in the spring of 1950 opened their restaurant and hotel as the Rainbow Inn. The name signified that they welcomed customers of any color. The couple placed advertisements for their hotel and restaurant in African American newspapers. Place publicizing the Rainbow Inn as a northern Michigan destination for people of color. The inn also became a favorite place for African American domestic servants who spent summers in the area with their employers. The Rainbow Inn continued to prosper, but years of protests began to change America's political landscape. On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act of 1964. No longer could businesses refuse service because of race, color, religion or national origin. The Civil Rights act also meant that America's black resorts, such as Idyllwild in western Michigan, were no longer necessary. But it was an accidental fire, not the Civil Rights act, that ended the Rainbow Inn. On March 8, 1965, the Rainbow Inn burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt. William west died in 1970 and his wife Gail passed the following spring. Now the Rainbow Inn is only a memory of an inclusive place that served travelers of all colors. This Michigan history moment was brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.