Old Rittenhouse Inn

Old Rittenhouse Inn began as a Queen Anne Victorian home built in 1890 as a summer residence overlooking Lake Superior in Bayfield, Wisconsin. Mary and Jerry Phillips purchased the property in 1973 and opened it as Wisconsin's first bed and breakfast. The house's exterior combines native Lake Superior brownstone, creamery brick, and shingles, and its original main-floor rooms now house Landmark Restaurant, which serves breakfast and dinner to houseguests and the public beneath a notable cherry staircase leading to the guest rooms above. Following a 1985 expansion, the inn now offers guest rooms and suites, many with Lake Superior views, fireplaces, and whirlpool tubs. In 1987, the Phillips acquired a second property nearby: Le Chateau, built in 1907 by lumber baron Frank Boutin Jr. Restored into a seven-room sister inn, Le Chateau's landscaped gardens have become a setting for weddings, alongside Old Rittenhouse Inn's own lake-view grounds. Both properties host ceremonies and receptions ranging from intimate elopements to larger traditional weddings, supported by an on-site event planner, officiant services, and champagne toasts.