First Avenue South's historic architecture & visual finds

The restrained exterior of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church on First Avenue North doesn’t hint at its sumptuous, marble-trimmed interior. Across the street, its gym and auditorium have become a splendid home of the arts as the Bonifas Fine Arts Center.

First Avenue South parallels Ludington Avenue a block south of it. Its striking turn-of-the-century churches, public buildings, and homes give a good idea of Escanaba's glory days. You'll see more, of course, if you walk or bicycle. Additional fine old houses are along Ogden Avenue, which joins First Avenue South at Second Street, behind the House of Ludington. Here are First Avenue's highlights, arranged from the lake westward:

• THE KITCHEN PLACE & VICTORIAN GIFT HOUSE. The downstairs of this very large Queen Anne house is a beautiful kitchen display showroom where visitors can buy accessories, too - perhaps an afghan draped over a chair or a vase or framed picture. In good weather, there's something to drink, lemonade or tea, while you sit on the porch. The house, full of nooks and crannies, has its original woodwork, hardware, and lighting intact. It seemed the perfect place for Dave and Judi Schwalbach to run their kitchen design business and live upstairs, too. Judi has always warmed up the kitchen cabinets with accessories and antiques, and customers always asked to buy them. So she decided to add a low-key gift shop. The store looks like a home - a home with a lot of kitchens. The large foyer with its elaborate woodwork really shines at Christmas, when five thousand lights decorate a 17-foot tree. 212 First Avenue South, behind the House of Ludington. (906) 786-9595. Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 10-4 Eastern Time. Handicap accessible: no.
  
• Former CARNEGIE LIBRARY, now a private home. Historic public buildings are adapted to many new uses, but very seldom are they converted to single-family homes. That's just what contractor Paul Neumeier has done with Escanaba's grand, neoclassical Carnegie Library from 1902. He always liked the building, and the location is great, close to downtown and the park. The fiction stacks are now his rec room, the reference room a living-dining area, the east wing a big eat-in kitchen. Not open to the public. Southeast corner, First Ave. South at 7th St., kitty-corner from the Bonifas Arts Center.
  
• BONIFAS FINE ARTS CENTER. The Upper Peninsula's largest towns have active arts groups. Escanaba's stands out for its beautiful and extensive facility here in what was built as the gym and auditorium of St. Joseph Catholic Church across the street at 709 First Avenue. Some of the lumber-based fortune of Luxemburger Bill Bonifas went to build a new church and this school gym and auditorium in 1937-8.
      The Bonifas, as it's known, has galleries for varied changing exhibits (it's one of only three Michigan museums that gets exhibits from the Detroit Institute of Art), plus classroom and studio space (including seven pottery wheels) and a first-rate theater. Local theater and folk music groups use it. Wide-ranging art exhibits run from regional shows of watercolors, baskets, and quilts to traveling Smithsonian exhibitions. Call or check the website to find out about exhibits and events. www.bonifasarts.org
      The U.P. has a surprisingly large number of working artists and craftspeople. Probably, says one artist here, that comes from a strong strain of self-sufficiency, combined with the area's relative isolation away from the world of museums and other forms of imported culture and entertainment. 700 First Ave. South at 7th St. 786-3833. Tues-Fri 10-5:30, Sat to 5 Eastern Time. Handicap accessible.
  
• ST. JOSEPH CATHOLIC CHURCH. See above for history. The church's towers and unusual golden stone make the exteriors striking. But the restrained neo-Romanesque style doesn't hint at the sumptuous interior touches like the church's inlaid floors of four colorful marbles, or its mosaics and stained glass rose windows. Mass is at 4 Saturday and 9 & 11:30 Sunday. Weekdays the church is generally open from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and visitors are welcome. 709 First Avenue South. 789-6244.
  
• OLD CITY HALL. Escanaba's imposing Romanesque Revival city hall, built of red sandstone in 1902, has been renovated and restored by a construction company, one of several office tenants. Upstairs, partition walls have been removed from ornate council chambers to get back to the original woodwork and floor. 121 S. 11th St. at First Ave. South.
  

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