Bon Aire section and other exterior changes to Hotel Breakers

While the Breakers opened in 1906, the Bon Aire wing came about in 1926...if memory serves. Other than the fact that there were a lot of less expensive rooms, that wing didn't have any redeeming features. No elevators alone was cause for complaint but the rooms, even after the occasional updating, were never worth the money that was charged.

If they wanted to get really creative then I think it would be cool to add a beach themed wing to that side of Breakers and tie it into Soak City. Maybe have a lazy river that leaves the hotel property and meanders into the actual water park. Charge rates that include Soak City admission. Heck, have a water slide that starts on a third or fourth floor of the new wing and lands in the water park.

Challenge Park is getting a little long in the tooth. Maybe they can redevelop that entire area.

I just figured out that the new kiddie pool is going tied into (located to the right of, viewing from the boardwalk) the existing Breakers East pool area, yes the one with the ugly looking mushroom fountain thing. It's looks as though the current patch of grass/empty land (east/left of the rotunda area,looking from the boardwalk) is going to be torn out and used for the new pool area.
Like others have said, the other pool(behind the rotunda,close to TGIF) is being permanently removed and filled in for green space and a new path leading to the beach.

JUnderhill said:
^^ The Bon Air section of the hotel is located in between the tower section and the small parking area by the Challenge Park mini-golf course. If you have ever entered breakers from the North door (closest to the resort gate) you actually entered into the Bon Air wing before you hit the tower section where Fridays, tower elevators etc... are located.

If I did this right, Bon Air should be centered on this map.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4853669,-82.6841412,147m/data=!3m1!1e3

Thanks so much!!!! Now I know. :)

So where do you guys think the fitness area will go? I assume it will replace a number of rooms...

I kind of have a feeling it will go where the arcade is, or the main floor laundry room.

According to the CP Rundown page, there was a fire at Breakers on the radio scanners. They said it's under control now. Anybody got info on this?

https://www.facebook.com/cprundown

From the Sandusky Register

http://www.sanduskyregister.com/news/fire-ems/6217026

(Please link - don't copy entire articles protected by copyright.)

I hope it wasn't too bad and doesn't cause any setbacks in the renovations.

It started because of the building sinking. :S

I have a few more construction pictures to share that really show how extensive a gut job this really is. Even the exterior walls are being removed. Click on the links below to see the pictures. Walt - If you want to use the pics on the facebook site again, please do so.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PVWp4Rk4wWHpGVFk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PbFhXaUFaYThzcG8/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PdS1xdkVCQXJub1k/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PcmhIcmNUUktfUlU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PQzZZcXViRmNyMlk/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PWUdoU0VkLWk5ejQ/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PYUlsVERKNkpYZkU/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3Jwm7b4A89PSk14c3J0SEhzaFU/view?usp=sharing

Wow, had no clue they were being that thorough rather than just refacing the building, but I'm sure it needed it. I figured Breakers was all wood frame purely based off of the time period, so it's no wonder that there hasn't been a huge push to save the 'historic' wings... they're probably too deteriorated on the insides too.

I imagine it was more feasible to reconfigure those rooms to a more modern layout of today's standards.

Thanks again, Pete!

That's incredible! Think they are moving from a wood frame building to a steel frame building?

Thanks Pete.

I, too, did not expect the gutting to run this deep.

Now I'm thinking the real reason they got rid of the rotunda pool was to facilitate access for the construction equipment.

I wish they had done this to the original wings back in the 90's instead of building East and later Tower.

Kind of like this historic hotel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Langham_Huntington,_Pasadena

The entire structure was demolished and rebuilt as an exact replica of the original. Goes to show that history can be preserved even when the economics favor replacement over refurbishment.

Obviously the architect felt the original inner structure was worth saving, but I can only imagine that the kind of renovation they wanted to do triggered every possible modern building code, requiring them to strip it down. It's probably two decades overdue, at least. I think this will be one of the single best hotels on the Great Lakes if they can match the improvements with excellent service.

For clarification, I'm certainly glad they kept the original structure for historic reasons.

But, when they demolished the wings where Breakers East and Breakers Tower now stand, it would have been awesome if they had rebuilt exact replicas a la the Langham Huntington Pasadena if they had to tear down the original wings.

Looking forward to seeing the new Breakers, and very grateful that they didn't just demolish the entire structure.

I get that desire, but as hideous as the tower might be, it sure packs a lot more rooms than the old wing (which was employee housing at the end, right?). I think the minor facelift it's getting will help a great deal. It already looks less like an old hospital.

Yes, the tower looks a lot better now. I always got the feeling that the tower was incomplete, they just stopped for budget reasons before some architectural details were built.

The original A and C wings where Breakers East is now were not worth saving or rebuilding to the original configuration. They were poorly situated (as all the wings were) for nice lake views and were actually worse than Bon Aire. We used to stay in the C wing when I was a kid. Let's just say they were torn down not a moment too soon.

Breakers East is a huge improvement, with beautiful lake views and space for a nicely placed pool area that also has a great beach view.

I don't know a lot about the B wing that was torn down for the tower, but I'm sure it was just as bad as the A and C wings. B wing may have been employee housing but I'm very sure A and C was used as guest rooms until they were razed.

Yeah, I used to stay in the original wings when I was a kid, and I always loved the old fashioned feel.

I entirely understand your points about the lake views being improved with the East, and I agree that A, B & C were in notably worse shape than Bon Aire back then.

But I think it would have been nice to preserve the entire look and feel of the turn-of-the-century beachfront resort. I like to feel like I'm stepping back in time in a place like that, and such an experience can coexist with reasonable luxury.

The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island is a classic example.

Breakers East and Tower decimated that feel, enough to cause the entire property to be delisted as a National Historic Landmark or from the National Register of Historic Places (whichever one it was, I don't remember).

What's done is done, just glad the remainder of the 1905 hotel is staying.

I think it is going to lose the old-fashioned feel though... I can't imagine that with the gutting apparent in your pics that details such as the lobby's tin roof are staying.