Biographical Dictionary of Copper Country Architects
by Morgan Davis Architect: Fred Maass Location: Hecla Street, Laurium Remodeled: 1914 Contractor: Chatel & Vairo In 1899 the recently incorporated village of Laurium built a new village hall, a two-story building with false front. Fifteen years later, the village decided on an expansion and remodeling, and hired Fred Maass to prepare the plans. It… Read more Laurium Village Hall
by Morgan Davis Architect: Maass Brothers Alternative Name: City Centre Location: 616-618 Sheldon Avenue, Houghton Built: 1910 Contractor: Herman Gundlach1 The four-story building is faced with Jacobsville sandstone. Smooth-faced pilaster-like elements are set off against the rough texture of the rest of the wall. Windows are grouped into threes across the front, except for the… Read more Masonic Temple of Houghton
by Chase Sturos Architect: Claude & Starck Alternative Name: Portage Lake District Library, Carnegie Cultural Museum Location: 105 Huron St., Houghton Completed: 1910 Contractor: John Michels In 1908, John Doelle, Superintendent of the Portage Township School District, successfully led an effort to establish a public library in Houghton. The Houghton Public Library was constructed using… Read more Houghton Public Library
by Kiel Vanderhovel and Derek Dykens Architect: Charles K. Shand Location: 401 Calumet Street, Lake Linden Built: 1901-1902 Contractor: L.F. Ursin In 1887, a fire came close to destroying the village of Lake Linden, approximately 40 acres, and the business district was greatly affected. As part of the rebuilding, the Village Council decided to build… Read more Lake Linden Village Hall
by Kiel Vanderhovel and Derek Dykens Architect: Charles K. Shand Alternative Name: Calumet Theatre Location: 340 6th Street, Calumet Built: 1899-1900 Masonry and excavation: Paul P. Roehm Carpentry: Bajari & Ulseth1 Calumet, located in the heart of the copper mining industry, experienced rapid population growth and built a village hall in 1886, designed by J. B.… Read more Calumet Opera House and Village Hall Addition
by Kiel Vanderhovel and Derek Dykens Architect: Charles K. Shand Location: 325 6th Street, Calumet Built: 1898-99 Carpentry: Bajari & Ulseth Masonry: Procissi & Company After a brush fire in 1870 destroyed approximately two-thirds of the Village of Red Jacket, the first fire department was created in 1875. In 1887 the village paid the fire-fighting… Read more Red Jacket Village Fire Hall
by Dany Peavey, Stevan Sliger, John Krystof, and Travis Dvorak. Updated 2021 by Steven Walton Architect: Charlton, Gilbert, & DemarAlternative Name: Hancock City HallLocation: 399 Quincy Street, HancockBuilt: 1898-99Contractor: E. E. Grip & Co. of IshpemingInterior Painting: Associated Artists of Milwaukee In February 1898, three architectural firms submitted plans for this commission: William T. Pryor, C. Archibald… Read more Hancock Town Hall and Fire Hall
by Adam Gaugh. Architect: Shaw & Hunnewell Location: Red Jacket Road and Mine St., Calumet Built: 1897-98 This striking stone building with its façade of contrasting red and gray mine rock was the Calumet Public Library. The library was built in 1897-98 for public use. When the library opened, the Copper Country Evening Newscommented that “no… Read more Calumet Public Library
by Bradley Plummer Architect: John B. Sweatt Location: 401 E. Houghton Ave., Houghton Built: 1886-1887 As one of the more distinctive courthouses built in late 19th-century Michigan, the Houghton County Courthouse reflects the prosperity brought to the area at the time due to the copper boom. The polychromatic, 2 ½-story building was influenced by the… Read more Houghton County Courthouse
by Bradley Plummer Architect: John B. Sweatt Location: 4th Street, Eagle River Built: 1886 Modified: 1925 This structure was designed by Sweatt, though its appearance has since changed. Originally it was a two-and-one-half-story rectangular structure with clapboard walls and a steep-pitch, hip-roof. The rear of the structure, the jail, was constructed of coursed rubble stone.… Read more Keweenaw County Sheriff’s Residence and Jail