Bancroft House Hotel, Saginaw Michigan, around 1900.
Sept. 7, 1859 — Lumber baron Jesse Hoyt financed the building of the Bancroft Hotel, and named for his friend, George Bancroft, a historian. The main entrance was on East Genesee, and a women’s entrance was on South Washington.
On March 20, 1881, the Bancroft Hotel featured the first incandescent electric lamps used commercially in Michigan.
The first street corner in the world to have electric light was Washington and Genesee, outside the Bancroft Hotel. It was suspended from a rope and people came from miles and miles away to see it.
Sources:
Mich-Again’s Day and What Was There
Bob Johnson, “Historical timeline: downtown Saginaw’s Bancroft and Eddy buildings“, Saginaw News, January 11, 2013.