Lakeside Hotel
Built in 1880 by George W. Weeks, for which Weeks Street is named, the Winnipesaukee Marketplace was originally a hotel, known as the Lakeside House. It was owned by Mr. Weeks from 1880-1912. Edward T. Milton, who owned it from 1913-1925, erected the footbridge in 1917 “to afford easier access to the Lakeside for auto parties”. In the late 1940’s, the name was changed to the Lakeside Hotel by its new father-and-son owners, Albert and Donald Favreau. In 1986, it became the Winnipesaukee Marketplace.
1940s
To the far left in the photo below, we see a glimpse of the former building on Lakeside Avenue known variously as the Lakeside Garage, Knottty Pine Restaurant, Teen Haven, and Nashville North. At the time of this photo, as is partially evident by the sign on the building, it was named the Weirs Supper Club. On the footbridge we see a sign promoting “Bowling”. It would appear by that sign, as well as the larger one on the building, that the Lakeside Hotel featured bowling on the premises, and some kind of sports, as well as 65 rooms which were available for only $1 or $1.50 a night. (The Hotel did indeed have a six-lane candelpin bowling alley on the premises. Scroll down this page for a picture of the bowling alley.)
To the right in the photo, we see a traveling van of the Rudy Wallace Orchestra, who were probably staying at the Hotel at the time of the photo. The orchestra appeared frequently at the nearby Irwin’s Winnipesaukee Gardens, and was considered one of the “top New England territory bands” [Allegro, Volume CV No. 11, November, 2005]. According to the article, in late 1942, Rudy Wallace retired and Mal Hallett took over the band.
Lakeside Hotel Dining Room signs. The Lakeside Hotel bowling alley.
A green Lakeside Hotel brochure from the 1940s.
Souvenir cup and saucer, 1940s
1950s
The Lakeside Hotel in the 1950’s
The Lakeside Hotel in the 1950’s. Note the two stone pillars; they dated back to the early 1900’s, but were torn down around 1998 because they obscured the view of the front lawn of the building from the boardwalk and vice versa.
A 1950s brochure, tinted red, used the same drawing of the hotel on its cover as was used in the 1940s green brochure.
1960s
A full page advertisement of the Lakeside Hotel in the 1960 New Hampshire Vacation Guide
A 1960’s Lakeside Hotel brochure.
1970s
A 1970’s Lakeside Hotel brochure.
1980s
Lakeside Hotel guests were able to access a private beach at the end of Baker Avenue, seen in the photos below. When the Hotel was sold in 1986, the new owners quickly sold off the “Motel” part of the property on Baker Avenue, along with beach rights, as condominiumized units, leaving only the original Hotel building, which was then sold to a developer who transformed the Hotel into the Winnipesaukee Marketplace.
A May 11, 1985 photo of the Lakeside Hotel, as the Winnipesaukee Railroad train passes underneath the footbridge. A year later, the entire rear of the Hotel would be torn down in the conversion to the Winnipesaukee Marketplace.
