Root Beer Barrel

Douglas, Michigan, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Douglas Root Beer Barrel is described in 2022 coverage as a 17-foot-tall redwood barrel-shaped hot dog and root beer stand at Ferry and West Center streets in Douglas, Michigan. Opened in 1952, it was restored by volunteers and reassembled in 2016, and the city owned it as of 2023.

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Root Beer Barrel

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42.64324° N, 86.21248° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

Stopping at the Barrel was once part of the ritual of going to the beach at Saugatuck. The Douglas Root Beer Barrel is a 17-foot-tall redwood structure on the southwest corner of Ferry and West Center streets, owned by the City of Douglas as of 2023.

The Saugatuck-Douglas History Center says the story begins in Flint, where friends Joe Decker and Harold Kelly decided they could make money selling root beer and foot-long hot dogs to people after a day at Oval Beach. They built an eye-catching barrel of 125 staves, and it opened in 1952 on Center Street just east of Ferry. Later owners added a cottage, a miniature golf course and a gift shop, and steel hoops were wrapped around the barrel to hold its shape. FOX 17 and WKFR instead say the barrel itself was built in Flint and moved across the state.

Accounts differ on when it stopped. The History Center says it was open for only a few holiday weekends in 1974 and never reopened, though its project summary and FOX 17 give 1978 as the closing year. It sat unused for about 25 years, and its owner was ready to demolish it. In 2010 the Saugatuck Douglas Historical Society bought it for $1.

Restoration began in summer 2011. More than $11,500 was raised, including from donors who each paid $150 to fund one stave. Volunteers gave over 600 hours, 120 staves were repaired, and Saugatuck High School industrial arts students made a new steel base ring. Ownership passed to the city in June 2015, and reassembly at the present site was completed in 2016.

The stand has since run on city leases. In late 2023 FOX 17 reported that the city's building committee recommended a new operator for the 2024 season. FOX 17 earlier reported a season from mid-May to Halloween under the previous operator.

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A restored barrel-shaped concession stand that served hot dogs, root beer, concessions and souvenirs as of 2023. FOX 17 earlier reported a season from mid-May to Halloween; the operator changed for 2024, so check current hours before travelling.

ACCESS

Southwest corner of Ferry and West Center streets, Douglas, on city-owned land. Whether the stand is open depends on the season and its operator.

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56 km away

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