The past couple of weekends I’ve rediscovered a maxim that we all take for granted--that people in Marquette are among the friendliest and most helpful on the face of the Earth.

You see, the past few weekends Loraine and I have been wandering around downtown Marquette, carrying sheets of paper while stopping every few steps, looking and pointing at buildings. We’ve lost track of the number of people who paused during a walk, came out of their business, or even stopped their cars in the street to ask if we needed help in finding something. To their kind offers, we had to say “no thanks”, because what WE were looking for…

Well, what we were looking for isn’t there anymore…

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30 years ago, a wise American philosopher came up with a line that was, perhaps, more prophetic that she ever could’ve imagined. And a paraphrase of that line is what drove Loraine and me to explore every nook & cranny of downtown Marquette, and to coincidentally rediscover just how friendly our city’s residents can be.

The paraphrase of that philosopher? “They paved history, and put up a parking lot”.

Now, this may come as no shock to people born in Marquette before, say, 1955, but for those of us who grew up here in the 60’s, the 70’s, and beyond, we missed out on a great deal of our city’s history. During those decades (and in a small part, even today) buildings, homes, and pieces of Marquette’s past were razed to help feed the need to park the ever-increasing number of vehicles we use these days. It’s just part of evolution--after all, Marquette pre-dated the first car by some 45 years and, as foresighted as they were, the city’s founding fathers could NOT have imagined the need for large patches of land on which to park our shiny metal boxes.

So, while WE grew up seeing parking lots dot the cityscape, our parents and grandparents knew a different Marquette. This is my attempt to try and re-create that so--at the least--our generation has an idea of what came before us. You can take this “tour” in one of two ways. You can just read the article and look at the pictures, seeing what came before you. Or, if you’d like, print out the article, and take the tour in person. The walk takes no more than half an hour, and might let you see Marquette in a slightly different light.

(One more thing, too--be aware that this is not the story of EVERY parking lot in Marquette, just a dozen or so clustered about a small section of downtown. If you’d like a story on a lot I didn’t cover, let me know. I’ll be happy to fill you in (if I can) and maybe even write a follow-up column about it, as well. You’d be AMAZED by some of the stuff I don’t have the space to cover here!!)

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Start the tour on the 100 west block of Main Street. Many of us remember this lot


between Wells Fargo and the Delft Theater as the home of the old Windmill Bowling lanes, torn down in the 90’s. But did you know that the bowling alley was only built in the early 60’s? Before that, for almost 5 decades, this lot held a huge 2 and half story building that housed the Marquette Steam Laundry. In the early part of the 1900’s, Marquette was home to half a dozen such establishments. Then dry cleaning came along, and the businesses--along with their buildings--were consigned to history.

Next walk over to Front Street, head down a block, and stand in front of Getz’s, facing the lake. You’ll see this lot--



It’s kind of hard to realize, but FOUR buildings used to sit here!! There were, going from left to right, a building that held clothing and music stores, then the longtime home of the Quality Hardware store. Next to that was a building that housed, for over 40 years, the Steinglein Printing Company, and finally, on the corner, sat the home of a tavern, the last incarnation of which was Andy’s Bar. The bar survived until the early 80’s; the parking lot gobbled up the others a decade (or more) before.

Head another block down Front Street, and look at the southwest corner of Front & Baraga. You’ll see this lot



For almost 40 years, this was the home of the Shoreland Hotel. Complete with restaurant, bar, and bowling alley, this establishment served Marquette in the mid 1900’s, even being rebuilt after a major fire in the 1940’s.

Now turn around, and face Brewbakers. In fact, look at the entire block at which you’re facing. You’ll notice that there are currently 5 buildings. Back in the 1940’s, there were 16 buildings on it.

16!!!!

In fact, the whole original Front street side of the block



is all gone. The two remaining buildings date from the 60’s and the 70’s.

What used to sit in the lots between them? Some legendary Marquette establishments, including the Bon-Ton and Central Cafes, the city’s first A&P grocery store, and, for at least 50 years, a Singer Sewing Machine store.

Now walk over to the Spring Street side of the block. Behind the current office building, this is what you see looking down the rest of the block…



You may be amazed to know that, at one time, this was one of the busiest blocks in Marquette. At different times, is was home to bars, restaurants, warehouses, furniture stores, car dealers, a couple of houses, and, until the 1960’s, one of the city’s firehouses. All this AND a railroad ran through it, as well!

Next turn and look across the street. Between the Janzen House and the law office you’ll see THIS lot



What sat here? For about 80 years, the Brunswick Hotel. Yup…the Brunswick and Janzen hotels sat right next to each other, joined for a long time by the Merchants Hotel, which sat right across the street where the bus station is now located.

Why, you ask, were three hotels within spitting distance of each other? Well, I answer, think about what used to be right behind the Janzen and Brunswick Hotels--the DSS&A railroad passenger terminal!!

Now skip across Third Street, and look at the parking lot for the Pathways building.



Did you know that this lot was once a whole STREET? Maple Street, in fact. Had a railroad trestle on one side and the old Red Owl grocery store on the other.

Cut through the Pathways parking lot, and head up Fourth Street until you see THIS lot on the northwest corner.



Most Marquette residents know this was the long-time home of St. John’s Catholic church. But did you know that the church wasn’t the ONLY building there? While the church survived through the mid 80’s, most of the others around it weren’t so lucky. In fact, a newsstand, apartments, and store surrounding the church disappeared in the decades leading up to the 80’s.

Head east one block to the intersection of Third & Washington. There you’ll find THIS lot

recently rebuilt (and quite nicely so, I might add) by the DDA. But did you know that, up until the early 1960’s, FOUR buildings sat here? Among them were long-timers like the Coffee Cup restaurant and Pong’s Chinese Laundry, as well as barbers, candy stores, gas stations, and electrical shops. Heck, at one time, there was even a Dairy Queen sitting on the corner!

Now head up Third Street a few steps, and you’ll see this lot behind the Post Office



Believe it or not, THREE buildings used to sit here until the late 40’s and early 50’s--a bottling plant, an office housing doctors and dentists, and an apartment building. Not quite sure how they all fit in there, but they did!

Finally, hike up half a block up to Bluff. Next to the big SBC/Ameritech building, you’ll see this lot:



For 80-some years, this lot held a beautiful (at least from the pictures I’ve seen) 3-story Gothic sandstone building that got its start as the Ely Elementary School. If you’ve ever seen pictures of the building (or were lucky enough to see it in person), you know that this is a perfect example of what used to be in the neighborhood…at least before the lots came!

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Many thanks go out to the residents of Marquette who allowed their brains to be picked for this article. In fact, try what I tried--ask your parents about what used to be located in a certain area. Not only will you be surprised by what they know, THEY might be surprised by what they remember. If nothing else, it’s a great way to spend a few hours with them!! I also want to pass along appreciation to the Peter White Public Library for having a gaggle of old Polk City Directories available. Those books may be the most under-utilized tools available for ANYONE interested in Marquette history.

By the way, I take FULL responsibility for any historical mistakes in this epic; PLEASE let me know if you think something needs to be corrected. And like I said before, if you’re interested in any of the other hundreds of parking lots in Marquette, let me know. I’ll see what I can find.

After all, you’d be amazed by what was here before we were!!

My e-mail address? jim@wmqt.com.