The Petoskey Downtown Historic District is a commercial historic district, roughly bounded by Rose, Division, Michigan, and Petoskey streets in

Petoskey, Michigan Petoskey ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat and largest city in Emmet County. Part of Northern Michigan, Petoskey is a popular Midwestern resort town, as it sits on the shore of Little Traverse Bay, a bay of La ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1986.

History

In the 1850s, both a Presbyterian and a Catholic mission were established near modern-day Petoskey to minister to the

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They ha ...

residents of the area. By the 1860s, more European residents moved into Petoskey, and pioneer Hazen Ingalls constructed a dock for shipping and built the first store in what is now downtown Petoskey. In 1874, the

Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad The Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad at its height provided passenger and freight railroad services between Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan, USA. The company was formed on January 18, 1854. Beginnings After grappl ...

began service to Petoskey, and the area soon grew immensely. The area already had three hotels by 1875. The village of Petoskey was incorporated in 1879; at that time a number of brick commercial structures began to be constructed in the downtown area. Construction continued through the turn of the century, and construction of small scale commercial structures continued into the 1940s.

Description

The Petoskey Downtown Historic District consists of 102 commercial properties and two institutional structures, located along 10 blocks in Petoskey's business district, primarily along East Mitchell and Howard streets. The contributing structures range in date from 1879 to the 1920s. The old tracks from the

run diagonally through the district, and open land bordering the track is landscaped as a park. At its north end, the district includes the old Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad Depot and the Perry Hotel, both reminders of the early tourism history of the city. The majority of the structures in the district are commercial in nature, and can be grouped by significant uses and architectural styles: *Residential-type commercial properties (319–331 Bay and 110–121 Howard): The two blocks at the northwestern edge of the district (the 300 block of Bay and 100 block of Howard) contain small residential-type commercial structures. Some serve as boarding houses, and others have been converted from residential to commercial use. *

Classical Revival Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

structures (300 & 415 Howard; 307–09, 407, and 452 East Lake; 100 Lewis; 307, 408, & 447 East Mitchell): A number of structures exhibit Classical Revival architectural styling. The most distinctive is the c. 1890 First State Bank at 300 Howard, in part because of its prominent corner location and its cohesive facade with a prominent Doric portico. Other Classical Revival buildings include the 1902 Matthew Pietrowitcz building at 415 Howard, the 1907 G&A building at 307-09 East Lake, and the c. 1917 Petoskey Cigar Company building at 407 East Lake. Each of these buildings have upper story arches unifying the Classical design. The 1899 Perry Hotel at 100 Lewis, the first brick hotel in the city, exudes an impressive monumental quality due to its prominent Doric entrance. *

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

"Commercial Palaces" (329–31 & 401–03 East Lake; 320 & 412 East Mitchell): These structures include the 1879 Central Drug Store at 401–03 East Lake, the first brick building constructed in the district. The structures incorporate iron elements such as window hood and cornices which were marketed after the Civil War. * Queen Anne structures (307, 310–12, & 419 Howard): The building at 307 Howard had second story oriel windows and detailed brickwork that is characteristically Queen Anne in style. The building at 310–12 Howard includes strong Classical Revival elements, and the 1893 Schilling building at 419 Howard contains strong Romanesque Revival details. * Spanish Mission (105 Lewis and 210 Howard): The 1899 depot at 105 Lewis and the commercial building at 210 Howard have characteristic stepped gables and parapets of the Spanish Mission style.

References

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Gallery

File:Petoskey.jpg, Petoskey, Lake St. looking west toward Howard, 2008 File:East Mitchell Street Historic District.jpg, Lake and Howard File:Perry Hotel.jpg, Perry's Hotel National Register of Historic Places in Michigan Italianate architecture in Michigan Queen Anne architecture in Michigan Neoclassical architecture in Michigan Emmet County, Michigan Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan