(upbeat music) - [Tom] On this episode of UTR, we're back with a whole alphabet full of reasons why you need to make it to Muskegon.

We'll show you some historic homes.

Am I seeing double?

A marvelous munchkin sized market and a speakeasy you'll want to shout about.

We even go to a place that offers an awesome array of outdoor sports.

Get ready to explore the cool people, places, and things that make Muskegon so magnificent.

- [Announcer] Pure is what you make of it.

It's taken it all in and never taken anything for granted.

The sun sets, the moon rises and you realize the end of one perfect summer day is the beginning of another.

Pursue your pure in Pure Michigan.

- [Narrator] A visit to the Stahls Auto collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around.

A fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines dating back 150 years that must be seen and heard.

Info at stahlsauto.com.

- [Announcer] Brought to you by Frankenmuth, a Great Lakes Bay region community.

Visit Gogreat.com for more info.

- [Tom] I've been around the world, but there's one place I keep coming back to, and the more I explore, the more I realize it's the place to be.

I'm Tom Daldin, and this is "Under The Radar Michigan".

(upbeat music) - Now, why is Muskegon a Michigan City you need to memorize?

Well, let's make it simple and do it alphabetically.

Well, for starters, Muskegon's got an attractive and walkable downtown and amazing restaurants to try and hospitable hotels to stay at.

It's also got some astonishing architecture across the entire city and some astounding historic structures.

And I didn't even use the word awesome yet.

As for the Bs, you'll find beautiful beaches, tons of boating along with bountiful breweries, baristas, and even a classic World War II U-Boat you can board.

And when it comes to the Cs, cruise ships bring people here from around the world to explore this great town.

Not to mention the fact that-- (records scratching) Okay, look, this is getting kind of complicated.

Why don't you guys just follow me and I'll show you why Muskegon is a great place to be.

And you don't have to spell or nothing, but before we get started, you should know that the great harbor city of Muskegon is located in Western lower mid-Michigan, right on the shores of Muskegon Lake and this beautiful body of water channels right out into majestic Lake Michigan.

Can you say Charter Boat Heaven?

Fish on.

Also, if you're looking to learn, Muskegon has the incredible, fun and multidimensional heritage museum that will take you back in time and show you a real working steam engine.

Heck, they even have the USS LST393.

It's an actual historic World War II landing ship in the harbor right downtown that you can board and tour.

Terrific.

And, and this is a big, and if you're a fan of festivals, Muskegon has one for every fancy.

From big and boisterous bike time to their awesome Irish Festival that was ranked five Clover Leafs by the Royal League of Loyal Leprechauns.

Yep, you'll find more festival fun and fanciful frivolities here than you can shake a corn dog at.

Now where were we?

Oh, right, Muskegon.

Where'd I go?

Right here?

Yep, this lakeside city has literally something for everybody.

And if you come to this place, heck, they've got two of 'em.

Well prepared to be dazzled and amazed, because these two ornate and opulent Victorian masterpieces are over the top awesome.

Yep, back in the day, two successful lumber barons decided to keep up with the Joneses, but since they didn't know any in 1887 they built themselves two bountiful and absolutely beautiful abodes that'll have you picking your jaw up over and over again.

The historic Hackley and Hume homes are a pure Michigan treasure that you can now actually tour.

And that's exactly what I intend to do, because if the insides are half as cool as the outsides, I just might make an offer, not.

Now to make sure I learn everything and touch nothing I did a wondrous walkthrough with Erin Schmitz.

Who the heck were Hackley and Hume?

- So Hackley and Hume lived in Muskegon through the late 1800s, and they earned their money all through lumbering.

And not only that, that's a really important part of our Muskegon history, but the most important part and why we're still talking about them today, not only do they have beautiful homes, but they gave so much back to the city and really the reason why Muskegon is on the map today.

- Yeah, I should mention we're in the Hume House right now, but like you said, the Hackley house breathtaking when you walk in there, everything from the stained glass to, like you said, all the wood, all the wood over there was hand carved, whereas a lot over here was machine carved, I guess.

- That's correct.

- But how long did it take to build these two?

- You know, when I first started, I thought it must've taken decades to build both of these houses and their matching carriage house in the back.

And it only took two years from 1887 through 1889, they were under construction and both families were able to move in shortly after the construction was over.

- Well tell me about the five faces that when you go into the Hackley house, the five faces you see.

- Right, so those are called "The Five Faces of Man", and they really represent what the Victorian people thought about humanity and what they knew about the continents around the world.

And so there's five of them.

There's the European man that represents all the people in Europe.

There's the South Pacific Islander, there is the African man, there is the native man representing North and South America, and then the Asian man.

- [Tom] 'Cause you guys do tours obviously.

- Yeah, so we're open May through October to offer our classic tour.

That's a one hour guided tour.

With your ticket you also get into our other two historic sites.

So if you're interested in firefighting museum type history.

Also we have the Scolnik House of the Depression era.

So it's one of the only depression era historic houses throughout the United States, and that's a gentle touch house.

So if you had your hands in your pockets throughout this tour, you can go over there and pull out all the drawers, try on the clothes, flip through the books, and really kind of go wild and learn more about the 1930s.

So we do those tours all throughout the season and then we offer a ton of specialty programs that really tell the rest of the story.

Yes, Charles Hackley and Thomas Hume, they got rich and wealthy through the lumbering, but what was the real life like?

What's the rest of the house?

What does that look like?

So we have an all access tour.

We do a lot of different games.

So we play the game of Clue live in the Hackley house.

- [Tom] Oh, wow.

- So we've created a murder mystery.

There were no murders, so it's fine.

We do a lot - Yet.

- of different opportunities to bring the community back into the door over and over again.

And then we end the season with our holiday tours, which if you thought they were beautiful today, seeing these houses in the evening, all decorated for Christmas, it's outstanding, it's breathtaking.

But the obituary tour is the best one, because that is the week before Halloween, we pretty much do all of the furniture in every room.

We have caskets that come in, we talk about death and dying practices of the Victorian era.

There's some weird things that happened.

And then there were multiple people who died in both houses and multiple people who had their funerals in the houses.

So we go through that history in the evening, you know, a week before Halloween, and it's spectacular.

- Yeah, everything like you said, from that to the the holiday decorations to the flashlight tours to, yeah this is, I mean, you guys are doing it right.

You're taking a piece of history, you're having fun with it.

- Absolutely.

- But you're also, you know, you're preserving it, you're revering it, you're making sure it's preserved, but it's just, yeah, you guys are doing it all right.

- We also have an escape room in the Hackley attic, so that's pretty awesome.

- Don't put me in it.

(Erin laughing) I'll still be there next Thursday.

- Don't worry about him then.

That's just Tom.

- We went in the escape room, there's a guy in there.

(both laughing) In a word, Holy smokes.

What a fascinating tour.

And around every corner and in every nook and cranny, we found hunks of history and heard fascinating facts.

Who'd have thunk listening and learning could be this much fun.

The historic Hackley and Hume Homes are just one more example why Muskegon and Michigan continue to impress the world.

Hey, maybe someday my home will be on tour.

Nah, I think not.

You know, when you say business incubator, it doesn't sound like a heck of a lot of fun.

But if you're in Muskegon and you say Western Market, you just said a whole ton of fun.

Yep, business incubators are designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs a place to develop and wield their wares.

But beware of the Western market, because this place is so cool and has so much tasty, awesome and innovative stuff, you just may never leave.

It's a cool collection of 17 colorful Lilliputian size chalets located right downtown on Western Avenue, and they offer a diverse array of culinary delights, unique crafts and artisanal offerings from local vendors, all just baby steps from one another.

Bonus, so to make sure I leave no chalet unshown, I checked in with Ann Meisch for a quick what's up with Western Market?

So, Ann, tell me, this has gotta be, I mean, every city should have a little market like this.

This is so cool.

Please tell me this was your idea.

- I'd like to take credit for it, but I can't.

- Ah.

- I know.

- And this is like an incubator, right?

For the most part.

- It is.

- These are people starting out businesses or testing their businesses to see if they will move on to something bigger.

- For the most part, you know, we've had existing businesses too who wanna try out downtown Muskegon as well, but for the most part it is incubator businesses who started out in downtown Muskegon.

- Who does the art on the sidewalks.

- So, you know, we had a young gal down here, Allison Mikesell, who was an intern with us, and she painted these for us and she did a marvelous job down here.

- Well, you even have beach volleyball.

- We do, we do.

So we have lots of fun things to do back there.

- You've created a destination here.

This is so iconic.

The atmosphere here is just so cool.

It's like, and it's right downtown Muskegon.

- [Ann] Right.

- That's the other cool part too.

- [Ann] Yes.

- [Tom] You don't have to try and go somewhere to find it.

It's right in town.

- Right, right.

- The city was blossoming.

- Yes.

- It's blossomed now.

- Yes, it has.

- Between the restaurants and the breweries.

- [Ann] Right.

- The shopping and the waterfront's changing and it's just becoming a premier destination.

- [Ann] Right, it is.

- Well, the variety of shops here is a little overwhelming, but the nice thing is they're small, so I can't get lost.

- Nope.

- And it won't take me long to find something to buy.

- Absolutely.

- Yeah, because they're, it's like a condensed little form of shopping.

- Right.

- So I should probably get busy.

- You should.

- Well, after committing this marvelous market to memory, it was time for drum roll, please.

(drum banging) That's right.

It's time to play America's favorite new game show.

Who are you?

What do you got?

And why is it cool?

Here's your host, Tom Daldin.

Okay, so who are you, what do you got, why is it cool?

- I'm Morgan and I own Amore Boutique and we have women's clothing and it's cool because we carry size of small to 3X.

- Awesome.

- I'm Ashley, I'm working for Amanda's Frosted Dreams and we have all the desserts that you can think of.

- So I'm Josh, the soap dude.

Everything I have is organic, it's all vegan.

Colors are all natural.

I handmade everything.

- My name is Addie Kinsinger.

I am a pastry chef.

I make all gluten-free pastries and chocolates.

- You've saved them.

- I hope so.

- Hi, my name is Jeremy Church.

I have local photos from Muskegon, Michigan, and they're cool because we have one of the most beautiful places in West Michigan to take photos.

- My name is Amy.

I'm a a graphic designer by trade.

I create original designs and unique artwork and print my own shirts.

- Hi, I'm Risa.

I bake home baked island goodies and also have treats from Hawaii and island gifts.

- My name is Dominique Williams.

We are She's Divine Cuisine.

We have any cuisine that you could ask for, and we are cool because it's the best food that you have ever had.

- Hey, I'm Dale from Marge's Outstanding Meats and More.

We sell Michigan jerky, fish, cheese, Bloody Mary supplies.

- I'm Victoria Bernhardt.

I sell houseplants, succulents and other natural designs.

And they're cool because plant people are cool.

Plants are therapeutic, they're fun, they're healthy and happy and so are we.

- We are Melt Gourmet Sandwiches.

We have not like your average sandwich.

We do have like a grilled cheese style, but we more go for like out of the box, kind of push your flavor limit type sandwiches.

- There you go, there you go.

You heard it here first, second, third and fourth.

And actually 17.

Oh, and I'm out.

When I said every town should have a market like this, I absolutely meant it.

It's a great way to get businesses into town, off the ground and on their way to success.

It also brings positive economic energy downtown, not to mention a solid sense of place for the community.

So if you wanna shop or grab a bite to eat at a cool, colorful, creative collective like this one, check out Western market in Muskegon.

I guarantee you'll want one of these where you live, but until you get 'em, use these.

They rock.

Now you've heard the old expression, "Speak softly and carry a big stick."

Well, at this place you can speak softly and carry a big drink or a pizza if you want.

It's totally up to you.

And that's because Capone's Speakeasy and Restaurant on Pine Street is all about the bygone days of opulence, pretty potent potables and gangster sized gastronomic greatness.

Now if you're wondering where this place gets its inspiration, just look above the bar and you'll see Al Capone.

A prohibition era gangster who may not have known how to behave himself, but he sure knew how to live the good life.

And that part of his legacy is here for you to love.

Yep, from the Ron Burgundy booths tufted with little red buttons, to the glittering chandeliers softly lighting your way, this place hearkens back to a time when an adult beverage in a place like this was pretty risky business.

But lucky for us, today, it's business as usual.

And speaking of usual, this is where I usually talk to somebody who knows a lot more than I do, which is not hard.

But in this instance, I picked owner Jim Noel.

I gotta tell you, Jim, you do speakeasy right.

We couldn't even find this place.

- Yeah.

- I'm serious.

- Yeah.

- There's no sign.

I mean, luckily Siri knew where it was, but we couldn't find it.

It truly is a speakeasy because it's hard to find.

Even when you walk in, it's understated.

Then when you come through that curtain and see this room.

- Yep.

It's lush, opulent, it's intimate, it's dark and the chandelier when you walk in to see that chandelier, first of all, bravo.

Secondly, where did you find that?

- It was, we found it at a antique source.

- Really?

- Yes.

- Yeah, it's a showpiece.

- Thank you.

- It really is.

Yeah, like I said, the lighting, the Ron Burgundy booze and here with the big buttons, I'm assuming he comes in here plays - Yeah, yeah.

- And plays jazz flute.

(Jim laughing) And I also understand you guys do, I mean, you stay true to the period because obviously when you look behind us on the bar, there he is, the man who didn't know how to behave, but he sure knew how to to live the life.

- Truth.

- And you had that commissioned?

- Yes.

- Of Al Capone?

- Of Al Capone, yeah.

We made a smiling Al Capone as opposed to a fearsome Al Capone picture.

- Well, 'cause he was here probably.

Yeah, yeah.

(both laughing) - You serve period drinks.

- Yeah.

- In the proper glassware, which is important.

- Yeah.

- Presentation means a lot.

But what's the, there's a drink, the old fashioned, apparently you're famous for that.

- That is correct.

There's different periods when the old fashioned was made differently.

So we make the old fashioned true to the period of time, which doesn't include cherry or lime muddled in it, but just very simple ingredients.

The bourbon, sugar cube, bitters, an expression of an orange peel over the top, king cube.

- This is where you go when you actually want to have a conversation and have a drink and get lost in time.

It is, it's like a time machine or something.

But now you were telling me the booths or the tables were made locally.

These wood tables?

- Yes, they were.

They're made locally.

Each individual.

There's five different species of wood in there.

And each plank is glued together and sanded down.

And then yeah, the process they go through.

- And your food.

I mean, I've heard people, I haven't had it yet, but I'm gonna have it.

- Yes, you are.

- What are you famous for, steaks?

- No, basically, half the menu is pizza, different style pizzas.

We have Sicilian style pizza, we have Chicago deep dish pizza, and then we have a Chicago thin crust pizza.

- You've lived and worked all over the world.

What brought you back to Muskegon.

- Family.

- Yeah.

- The area, particularly in the summertime, most beautiful place to live in the summertime.

- Although a little Italian birdie told me that your meatballs here are, I mean that you have some classic Italian dishes as well, correct?

- Yes correct.

The meatballs are absolutely wonderful.

Cook them in a cast iron pan, sauce, cheese on top.

And then we have different classical Italian dishes.

Chicken Alfredo, spaghetti, meatballs, lasagna, lasagna's excellence.

Probably the biggest seller we have on the menu.

- You're speaking my language.

Well, there's two things we're missing right now, Jim, that I can think of.

And that's an old fashioned right here.

- Yep.

- And an old fashioned right here.

So I think we should tend to ourselves and tend to the bar.

Well after our quiet and confidential conversation, it was time for Tommy to get gangsta.

So I relaxed, imbibed, and even ingested an all without getting arrested.

Thank goodness for modern times.

If you enjoy great atmosphere, smooth, classic cocktails and amazing food, oh, and traveling back in time, Capone's Speakeasy and Restaurant is a place where you could feel like a real gangster.

Of course, all while remaining polite, respectful and patient.

But then again, it's always fun to pretend.

Hey, gimme another drink, see?

Yeah, you dirty rat.

Yeah, see, see.

Gimme a drink now, see, yeah.

You know, 10 years ago I was standing on this very spot.

It was the dead of winter and I was a luger.

Well, I'm still a luger.

But now it's summer and there's still so much to do here.

It's the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park.

And if you love outdoor sports and awesome activities, you just met the motherland.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, this amazing place has so much to do outdoors you may never want to go indoors again.

From A to Z, meaning from archery to zip lining and a ton in between, this park truly is an adventure for all ages and all abilities.

Now, to make sure I pick a sport that'll express my average abilities, I checked in with Jim Rudicil and Dan Bonners.

Dudes, can I call you dudes?

- Oh yeah.

- Yeah.

- Okay, thanks.

This park, well, you know your park is cool when you've got five words in the name of the park, the Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park.

And we were here in the winter, what, 10 years ago?

I can't believe it's been 10 years.

And now we're back.

And I mean, well, Jim, go ahead.

I don't even know where to start.

I mean, this is amazing place.

- Yeah it is, right?

So an extraordinary piece of land here in Muskegon County, Muskegon State Park, over 1300 acres.

And we are like the epicenter of outdoor adventure right here.

So for 38 years we did, we had winter recreation out here.

And so for those 38 years of doing winter recreation, you know, we've saw tens of thousands of people taking part in Luge, cross-country skiing, ice skating, and snowshoeing.

And now we've moved into summertime and doing year-round recreation here, building out this grand plan called Many Reasons for All Seasons.

And working in conjunction with the Michigan DNR, we've started to unveil some of those new features here that you'll see today.

And you've got the zip lines - Yeah.

- Great things.

- Yeah.

If you notice anything going on behind us and hear this strange noise that's people having the time of their lives on this quarter mile zip line.

- Yeah, yeah.

But like I said, we were here in the winter before, and I'll never forget the first time we pulled in this park, I was blown away.

I mean, you see people skating through the woods, you have lit trails at night.

There's people playing hockey to my left, there's people coming outta the woods cross country skiing, and now summer, and Dan, Dan, Dan, the summer man, right?

You head up all the programs here, right?

- I do, yeah yeah.

- Which are like, besides just this amazing zip line, which you've got rock climbing now.

- Yeah.

- Which I mean, you see young people, older people, almost as old as me, rock climbing.

That's gotta be cool.

- Yeah.

The 38 foot rock climbing wall has definitely changed the game out here where people can come out and spend an entire day doing activities outside just within Muskegon State Park.

That's awesome.

- And so what are some of the other things you guys do court, you guys do team building here and hiking and.

- Yeah, so we're open to the general public on the weekends.

And so like these people that we have behind us, they're out here just visiting, or members of the community, or from as far away as, we had some people from Norway this year.

But then in the week or during the week, we have team building with corporate groups.

We have school groups come out here.

And our big thing is trying to get kids to get off of technology and start to enjoy nature.

- Yeah and Dan, watching you work with everything from the kids to the adults.

You're amazing at what you do.

- Thank you.

- You make it fun, interesting, informative.

Yeah, you're just, dudes.

I mean, you guys, this is.

- Dude?

(all laughing) - Dude.

- I mean like dude.

- So in the summertime we have a 1400 foot zip line.

We have a 38 foot rock climbing wall.

We have the only wheel luge track in all of North America.

We have an archery range that's brand new this year.

Beautiful covered pavilion where people can learn a beginner archery lesson - Or advanced like me.

- Or advanced, yeah, like you, Tom.

Exactly.

Yeah, not everybody gets to use a long bow, but we definitely let you use the long bow.

And then we also have a game called Trail Quest, which is a scavenger hunt and escape room style game on our hiking trails.

And we also just have yard games and the Lake Michigan shoreline a quarter mile away.

- Dudes.

- Dude.

- Dude.

Well, after hearing about all their awesome outdoor activities, I opted for archery.

And after Dan gave me some time tested tutelage on proper technique, I was breaking balloons like a boss.

I think Robinhood would've even been impressed.

Kind of, sorta, maybe.

If you're looking for an incredible array of outdoor activities to do, first things first, look for a park with the word adventure in its name.

And by that I mean Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park.

No matter the season, they can help you slide, fly, ride, and glide.

Oh and make a ton of new friends along the way, bonus.

And if you're looking for a great place to eat, stay, play, or heck even live, look for a city with the word Muskegon in its name.

I guarantee that even before you learn to spell it, you'll learn to love it.

- [Announcer] Pure is what you make of it.

It's taken it all in and never taken anything for granted.

The sun sets, the moon rises and you realize the end of one perfect summer day is the beginning of another.

Pursue your pure in Pure Michigan.

- [Narrator] A visit to the Stahls Auto Collection will take you back to a time when cars were more than just a way to get around.

A fantastic assortment of gas pumps, neon signs, and automated music machines dating back 150 years that must be seen and heard.

Info at stahlsauto.com.

- [Announcer] Brought to you by Frankenmuth, a Great Lakes Bay region community.

Visit gogreat.com for more info.

(upbeat music) - [Tom] I've been around the world, but there's one place I keep coming back to.

On this awesome episode of UTR, we're back in Muskegon for some historic homes.

Am I seeing double?

A marvelous munchkin sized market and to speakeasy you'll want to shout about.

We even go to a place that offers an amazing array of outdoor sports.

This is an "Under the Radar" you just gotta see.