Many famous guests stayed at the hotel, such as Lon Chaney, John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Vince Lombardi.

It was also where Senator Eugene McCarthy - then running for president in the 1968 Democratic Primary - was given the news by Senator Ted Kennedy, that his brother Robert F. Kennedy, would be announcing his presidential run the following day.

[4] It was later turned into a senior residence as the Port Plaza Towers, connected to the former mall of the same name.

On December 11, 2013, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker visited Hotel Northland and signed a bill offering nearly $7 million in tax credits toward a $35 million renovation project aimed at revitalizing the property back to a boutique hotel.

[6] The hotel reopened February 14, 2019[7] as part of Marriott's Autograph Collection division.