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 & Hecla and rented the storefronts to commercial enterprises, such as the Merchant’s and Miner’s Bank, the U.S. Post Office, and the Keweenaw Printing Company. Keweenaw National Historical Park currently owns the building.1
The three-story brick building has sandstone trim and a recently restored modillioned cornice. There are two ground-floor storefronts, one with a recessed entrance on the corner. At the second and third levels, the windows are paired, united by a stone segmental arch. Masons’ and Oddfellows’ logos are located in the lintels of the center windows.
Buildings by Byron H. Pierce in the Copper Country
- Gennette Block 1906
- Union Building 1888
- First National Bank Building 1888
- Northwestern Hotel 1886
Notes
- Union Building Association of Calumet, Records of Meetings, Keweenaw National Historical Park.