by David Bandlow
Architect: Carl E. Nystrom
Location: 400 Block of Pine Street (Highway 203), Calumet
Built: 1901
Contractor: Bajari & Ulseth
Also known as the Henry Blum building, this attractive three-story building was constructed primarily of brick and stone by contractors Bajari & Ulseth on the north end of Calumet. A contractor named Donahue was responsible for the brick work. Its flat brick facade was trimmed with red sandstone. The most distinctive feature of this building was the two oriel windows in the front which stretched over the second and third stories. These were constructed primarily of sheet metal. The interior was originally finished with yellow pine and maple floors. The upper floors were “arranged for two flats on each story and the entire building will enjoy the conveniences of furnace heat, openwork plumbing, electric lights and the usual list of modern conveniences.” The cost was estimated at around $14,000. Nystrom received praise for his work on the project by the local paper: “The new block adds considerably to the attractiveness of this end of Pine Street.”1 The Blum Building apparently suffered a devastating fire a few years later, because architect Frank W. Hessenmueller was hired to make plans for its rebuilding in 1909. Edward Ulseth was the contractor.2
Buildings by Carl E. Nystrom in the Copper Country
- St. John the Baptist Catholic Church 1901
- Nelson-Schroeder Block 1901
- Blum Building 1901
- McKenzie House 1901
- State Savings Bank 1901
- Corgan Block 1900
Notes
- “Blum Building,” Hancock Evening Journal, 19 November 1901.
- “Plans Prepared for Many Buildings to be Erected,” Calumet News, March 17, 1909.