To continue MAF’s Road Trip series, we are featuring Buildings for the Arts in Northwest Michigan. Are you considering a trip up north this fall? This list explores some of the more unique architectural buildings that are dedicated to the arts and are in the Northwest corner of Michigan. These examples reinforce MAF’s mission of “Advancing awareness of how architecture enriches life.”
If you are planning a northern Michigan fall colors tour, please consider some of the following options to learn more about Michigan architecture:
Harbor Springs History Museum: 349 East Main Street, Harbor Springs
Built in 1886 as a courthouse for Emmet County, the Harbor Springs History Museum has an extensive history. After the county seat was moved to Petoskey in 1902, the building became home to a variety of organizations including an opera house, a shooting range, a fire station, and finally serving as the Harbor Springs City Hall for most of its existence. In 2003, the city offices were moved to Zoll Street and the Historical Society began planning a permanent home for the history museum. Following a complete restoration by WTA Architects, the Harbor Springs History Museum officially opened to the public in 2008.
Crooked Tree Arts Center: 461 East Mitchell Street, Petoskey
The historic Petoskey United Methodist Church was built in 1890, and in 1979 the church was sold to the Crooked Tree Arts Center. The church was adapted for use as art galleries, a theater, and dance, art, and music studios. The restoration work was designed by Richard A. Neumann in collaboration with Quinn Evans and included a colorful but historically accurate exterior paint scheme. The former church is now linked by an addition to the former Carnegie Library, which is now used for community events.
Great Lakes Center for the Arts: 800 Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor
Located on the shores of Lake Michigan, The Great Lakes Center for the Arts is a northern anchor for music and performing arts. The center was designed by architects TowerPinkster and features a 525-seat theater, a community engagement room, a rooftop terrace, and a main level patio. Many of the public spaces provide open views of Lake Michigan for patrons to enjoy. The building features local materials including aged copper, Petoskey stone, and natural sedimentary rock.
Charlevoix Public Library: 220 West Clinton Street, Charlevoix
Since 1886, the Charlevoix Library has gone through multiple different building occupancies, which has led to the current location on Clinton Street. Situated in the center of downtown Charlevoix, the library is an exquisite rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of an elementary school. The original Charlevoix Elementary School, built in 1927, was designed by Warren Holmes-Powers. Now, the main reading room occupies the former gymnasium beneath a lofty beamed ceiling and each space is themed to match the lakes surrounding Charlevoix.
The Dennos Museum Center: 1410 College Drive, Traverse City
The Dennis Museum Center is located on the campus of Northwester Michigan College in Traverse City. The building was designed by local architect Bob Holdeman and features contemporary design principles suited for a cultural hub. Large windows invite natural light and create an open, transparent connection between the interior and the surrounding campus. The original center opened in 1991, with later additions designed by Cornerstone Architects. The expansions include a 367-seat auditorium and a gallery. The facility blends into the campus landscape and is surrounded by an extensive outdoor sculpture garden featuring regional and international works.
Petoskey District Library: 500 East Mitchell Street, Petoskey
Dedicated in 1908, Petoskey District Library started as one of the many Carnegie libraries built throughout the country. In 1989, the City of Petoskey purchased the former Michigan Bell Telephone Company building, which was located across Mitchell Street from the original library. The Bell building was renovated into a new library and opened in 2004, which features traditional materials such as brick, stone, and was designed in a timeless Colonial Georgian style with Mannerist tendencies. The building features a copper-clad cupola, which permits light to penetrate the center of the building.
City Opera House: 106 East Front Street, Traverse City
Built to celebrate and enrich the lives of the people in northern Michigan, the City Opera House opened in 1892. The building was designed by Pontiac architect, Edward R. Prall and made local history as the first building in Traverse City equipped with electric lights. The building is a red brick, 110-feet square, three-story Victorian structure, with the ground floor built for commercial tenants while the upper floors house the grand 680-seat performance hall. The building stands as one of only six historically intact Victorian opera houses in all of Michigan.
Glen Lake Community Library: 10115 West Front Street, Empire
Located in the lakeside town of Empire, the Glen Lake Community Library is designed to engage visitors year-round. Designed by Quinn Evans, the library was created as a lantern during the long winter nights and an outdoor oasis in the summer. The library’s form echoes its residential neighborhood, while modern detailing, large windows, and a prominent entry distinguish it as a civic building.
Read the full ‘Must See Michigan Article’ article featuring the Glen Lake Community Library here.
Interlochen Center for the Arts: 4000 J. Maddy Pkwy, Interlochen
Opened in 1928, the Interlochen Center for the Arts was one of the nation’s first institutions dedicated to the development of young artists. The 1,200-acre campus is home to over 400 buildings, facilities, and venues which are surrounded by nature and nestled between two lakes. Starting in the late 1950s, Midland’s Alen B. Dow designed a campus master development plan and added more than a dozen structures. Beginning in 1990, Boston based Sasaki and Associates updated the master plan multiple times, and guided campus aesthetics, land use, and new discipline-specific facilities. Recent buildings designed by Cornerstone Architects of Traverse City include: the Herbert H. and Barbara C. Dow Center for Visual Arts (2008), the Aaron and Helen L. DeRoy Center for Film Studies (2006), and the Writing House (2002).
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Maritime Museum: 8799 Sleeping Bear Road, Glen Arbor
The previous Sleeping Bear Point U.S. Life-Saving Station (now the Maritime Museum) is architecturally significant as a rare, nearly intact prototype design from plans prepared in 1890 for the Marquette Life Saving Station. The complex survives alongside the original outbuildings and a 1914 signal tower, which represents standard federal lifesaving architecture on the Great Lakes.
Photo by James Yochum Photography
Elizabeth Lane Oliver Center for the Arts: 132 Coast Guard Road, Frankfort
The Elizabeth Lane Oliver Center for the Arts is housed in a rare, LEED Platinum certified historic 1934 U.S. Coast Guard station located on Betsie Bay in Frankfort. Designed by Quinn Evans, the $2.9 million renovation transformed a utilitarian maritime station into a modern cultural hub, while still preserving the 1930s industrial character. The layout maintains the building’s original structural openness, featuring large window walls and skylights that frame Lake Michigan and the Betsie River channel.
Ramsdell Theater: 101 Maple Street, Manistee
The Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee is an architectural masterpiece of the early 20th century. The building is celebrated for its blend of Classical Revival and Italianate design elements designed by prominent Chicago architect Solon Spencer Beman. Built between 1902 and 1903, it was financed by local pioneer and philanthropist Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell. The theater was meant to rival the finest opera and vaudeville houses of its time, with the interior featuring a spacious auditorium centered around a large, light-encircled dome.