Things to do / Travel Guide
Northern Michigan features a variegated selection of architectural styles, from Victorian homes to eccentric stone-and-boulder cottages. Many of the historic constructions date from around the beginning of the 20th century, and the styles they are built in include arts-and-crafts and Beaux Arts. Hotels and inns throughout the region are, in fact, restored historical landmarks, and the wide range of lighthouse construction styles used throughout northern Michigan is certainly noteworthy. Architecture hobbyists as well as travelers with more formal training in the field will certainly find enough architectural diversity to pique their interests.
Here are a few other noteworthy architectural sights in northern Michigan:
Northern Lower Peninsula
In Midland, be sure to track the unique and distinguished architectural legacy of Alden Dow, a Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin Fellow and son of Herbert Dow, the founder of Dow Chemical Company.
More than 70 years ago architect Earl Young chose Charlevoix as the site for his quirky stone-and-boulder cottages with mushroom-shaped rooflines. His eccentric constructions, scattered throughout the residential districts, have now become a symbol of the city.
Traverse City offers a wide variety of historic architecture. The Masonic hall dates from 1890 and the City Opera House was built in 1882. On Sixth Street you will find a series of Victorian homes that belonged to early lumber barons; and the historic 10-story Park Place Hotel opened the year of Earnest Hemingway's first visit in 1930.
In Bay View, adjacent to Petoskey, visitors may be attracted to the acoustically-perfect John M. Hall Auditorium, which still features concerts and theater performances as part of its Summer Assembly Program. There is also the arts-and-crafts style Terrace Inn, built around the turn of the 20th century. Bay View boasts over 430 Victorian homes and cottages, many with million-dollar views of the Little Traverse Bay.
Mackinac Island
The Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island first opened in 1887. In the 1890s, its 660-foot porch was billed as “the longest in the world”; it still claims the title today. The hotel was selected as a state historical site in 1957, and architect Richard Bos redesigned and refurbished the exterior in 1976.
Upper Peninsula
Marquette, in the Western Upper Peninsula, has a historic district downtown. Buildings like the 1902 Marquette County Courthouse, and the 1927 MFC First National Bank, are fine examples of the Beaux Arts architectural style.
Northern Michigan Lighthouses
Michigan is home to 115 lighthouses in all, more than any other state, the vast majority of which are located along the shorelines of northern Michigan. For those who delight in the simple elegance of their strong, cylindrical shapes, northern Michigan's lighthouses provide a treasure-trove of architectural intrigue. Travel around northern Michigan photographing and cataloguing the wide variety of architectural designs and constructions or simply enjoy splendid sunsets from within their towers.
While many of northern Michigan's lighthouses are privately owned or have been converted into private residences or inns, a good many are open to the public. Here are a few not-to-be-missed northern Michigan lighthouses for you to find and explore:
- The Old Presque Isle Lighthouse on Lake Huron is a conical construction, built from rough stone and brick. Established in 1840, the light is now inactive and the structure functions as a museum.
- The Point Betsie Lighthouse in Frankfort on the northern Lower Peninsula, is the second-most photographed lighthouse in the United States. Point Betsie was built in 1858. It is a round/integral brick structure with keepers' quarters attached. It towers 52 feet above Lake Michigan and its beam has a range of 27.5 miles.
- The Marquette Harbor Lighthouse on Lake Superior on the Upper Peninsula, was built in 1866 and is one of the oldest active Coast Guard Lights in existence. The structure features a large light and two-and-a-half story residence.
- The Seul Choix Point Lighthouse, in Gulliver on Lake Michigan, was established in 1895. The structure, a conical brick light, is 78-feet tall and still functions as an active lighthouse.
- The Charlevoix South Pierhead on Lake Michigan is constructed from pyramidal steel over a skeletal platform and was founded in 1948.
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