Staff writer
It took two and one-half years, but Jim Cloutier has reopened the historic Elgin Hotel.
Visitors toured the renovated bed and breakfast Saturday during the Art at the Elgin fundraiser for Marion Youth Advancement Committee.
Visitors admired the custom stone and woodwork and a massive chandelier hanging above the central staircase.
The Elgin was an apartment building when Cloutier bought it in 2006. He was considering renovating his home, but heard from a friend the building was for sale.
Cloutier said he didn’t know what he was going to do with the Elgin when he bought it. He decided to restore it as an upscale bed and breakfast, partly as a matter of community pride. He wanted Marion to have a destination hotel.
He talked his wife, Nan Cloutier, into moving to the third floor of the building after converting it into a single residence. She was reluctant, but agreed on the condition that she could decorate how she wanted, he said.
It took nearly three years to restore the Elgin. The first and second floors were gutted, taking out interior walls separating apartments.
Nan Cloutier had the task of finding furnishings for the hotel. Some of the decorations belonged to the family, but most was found scouring antique shops in the region, Jim Cloutier said.
“She’s banned from those stores now,” he said.
There were guests already staying in the hotel Saturday, and it is booked for Chingawassa Days and Symphony in the Flint Hills, he said.
His daughter, Blythe Settle of Hillsboro, manages the bed and breakfast. There are eight guestrooms. The ballroom is available for special events, like Saturday’s auction.
There still is some work to be done in a few of the guest rooms, Cloutier said. The kitchen and dining room are available to anyone who wishes to open an upscale destination restaurant.
“I don’t want to get into the restaurant business,” Cloutier said.