Byron H. Pierce

by Brandon M. Herman. As the first architect in the Copper Country, Byron H. Pierce (1857-1906) designed some of the major brick buildings. Biography Pierce was the first architect to set up shop in the Copper Country, appearing in the first city directory in 1887, where he was noted as “a resident since 1885.”1 Born in… Read more Byron H. Pierce

Gennette Block

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by Brandon M. Herman Architect: Byron H. Pierce Location: 813-15 Lincoln Drive, corner of Elevation Street, Hancock Built: 1906 S. A. Gennette commissioned this unusual tile-block building in 1906.1 One of Pierce’s last works, he died less than two months before it opened in November 1906. When the building opened Gennette claimed to have prepared the plans… Read more Gennette Block

Union Building

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by Brandon M. Herman Architect: Byron H. Pierce Location: Fifth St. and Red Jacket Rd., Calumet Built: 1888 The Union Building Association commissioned this building to accommodate the Free & Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as more than twenty other fraternal groups. The Association leased the land from Calumet… Read more Union Building

Northwestern Hotel

northwesternhotel

by Brandon M. Herman Architect: Byron H. Pierce Location: 211-213 Quincy St., Hancock Built: 1886 Demolished: 1995 The Northwestern Hotel, the first high-class hotel in Hancock, had 50 rooms with electric lighting and bathrooms with hot and cold water. The hotel was four stories tall, the tallest building in Hancock. The brick building had sandstone… Read more Northwestern Hotel