The Superior Street Commercial Historic District is a commercial historic district, running primarily along Superior Street from Elm Street to Vine Street in

Albion, Michigan Albion is a city in Calhoun County in the south central region of the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 8,616 at the 2010 census and is part of the Battle Creek Metropolitan Statistical Area. The earliest English ...

. 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 ...

in 1997.

History

Albion was first platted in 1836, and by the following year there were two mills operating along the river and a tiny settlement. In 1844, a railroad line was constructed through the north side of Albion, and later commercial development gravitated to that section of the village. The railroad access brought new settlers who farmed the surrounding area, and mills and elevators became an important part of Albion's economy. Fourdries and other manufacturing interests were also established in the mid-1800s. Through the rest of the century, Albion grew steadily, and the commercial district kept pace. The earliest extant buildings in the district are

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 ...

commercial structures dating from the 1850s. Similar style commercial buildings were constructed into the 1880s, and make up a substantial portion of the district. Around the commercial heart of Albion, other buildings were constructed for government and social use: churches, an opera house, library, city hall and social clubs. As additional structures were built into the twentieth century, the commercial architecture began to change into a more simplified post-Victorian style.

Description

The Superior Street Commercial Historic District contains 92 structures, of which 75 contribute to the historic character of the district. The buildings are primarily located on Superior Street, but the district does include some blocks to either side. The Superior streetscape is visually unified by the relatively uniform building heights and the similar decorative window hood moldings on the buildings. Buildings within the district range roughly from the mid 1850s to the 1950s, and are primarily of two- and three-story brick commercial buildings. Many of these are of Italianate design, but there are several buildings constructed in Prairie,

Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...

, and Romanesque styles.

Gallery

File:View of Cruise in from Fire Truck ladder.jpg, Superior Street near Center, looking south File:Harrington school at the festival of the forks.jpg, Parade File:Bohm side.jpg, Bohm Theatre File:Blues at the Bohm March 2 2015.jpg, Night scene File:Jewett Knapp.jpg, Superior and Center, historic photo

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Michigan National Register of Historic Places in Calhoun County, Michigan Italianate architecture in Michigan Second Empire architecture in Michigan Neoclassical architecture in Michigan Buildings and structures completed in 1845