 | | Downtown Houghton's cinema is called, appropriately enough, the Lode. | Downtown along Shelden Avenue is distinctive and architecturally rich, a college town full of surprises to reward the perceptive pedestrian. A bike/footpath with benches and picnic spots goes along the waterfront a block below. Lavishly ornamented buildings from the mining boom line the steep hillside. A diverse array of shops, boosted by modest rents, range from the practical (Surplus Outfitters and upscale Down Wind Sports for cold climate gear, a hardware store, several barber shops) to the more exotic (a tattoo parlor, head shop, a nifty California-theme women's fashions shop).
An information-rich virtual walking tour of central Houghton is now online at www.cityofhoughton.com. Its intelligent commentary would be easy to read when printed out and put in a notebook. The information-packed interpretive panels around town are rather hard to digest when you're standing and reading, but they're full of interesting nuggets—e.g., most downtown buildings were of a simple front-gable design that encouraged the area's heavy snows to fall to the sides.
Downtown's retail mix is unusual for today: restaurants and specialty shops, and still a hardware store, clothing stores, and a movie theater. Tech students and faculty, together with summer visitors, help sustain downtown. But McDonald's moved out to the strip, and Burger King is gone. Civic leaders are working on new strategies to keep downtown healthy and improve the area's walkability for students. Up the hill southwest of town along M-26 are Houghton's discount stores and the Copper Country Mall with its modest collection of national specialty chains.
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The ornate Douglass House on Shelden, Houghton's main street that parallels the waterfront. Built in 1900, the former hotel has a terrific vintage bar, complete with rich woodwork and original Tiffany-type chandeliers hanging from a coffered ceiling. | Two taverns have opulent historic interiors and elaborate bars and back bars that go back to mining boom times. If you're strolling around, take a peek. They also serve food; see restaurant listings. The Douglass House Saloon, the oldest bar in town, is at downtown's east entrance, in the handsome orange brick Douglass House hotel, a local landmark with its square corner towers. It was erected in 1900 by local businessmen who wanted a first-class hotel for their town. Original Tiffany-type chandeliers hang from the saloon's coffered ceiling with its rich woodwork. On downtown's other end at 126 Shelden, the Ambassadorhas a back bar with a vintage landscape mural populated by cavorting and carousing gnomes. A third memorable beer-drinking setting (with good hamburgers, too) is the Downtowner Lounge's outdoor deck overlooking the Portage Waterway, behind the bar at 100 Shelden.
Here are some noteworthy downtown businesses, arranged from east (closer to Tech campus) to west (the lift bridge). Shelden is one way from east to west. The other direction, west to east, is one street up the hill, along Montezuma. There's plenty of parking on decks entered north (toward the waterway) off Shelden or from the street below it.
• ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK VISITOR CENTER & BOOKSTORE. By the dock of the Ranger III, this space accommodates an information center where park staff with detailed maps can answer some of the questions prospective visitors have. It also contains a small nature bookstore run by the Isle Royale Natural History Association to benefit the park. Its maps, videos, and posters are either about Isle Royale or about subjects pertaining to it, such as wolves, moose, field guides, and Native American culture. Some poster images are from the natural history association's artist-in-residence program. A substantial portion of all merchandise profit goes to the national park. Mail orders are welcome; call (800) 678-6925. For the complete online catalog, visit www.irnha.org . Adjoining the shop are offices of National Park Service Isle Royale staff. By the dock at 800 E. Lakeshore. From Shelden Ave./U.S. 41, look for signs, turn north just before entering downtown at the tall Franklin Square Inn. National Park (906) 482-0984. Natural History Assn.: (800) 678-6925. From mid June thru late August: open Mon-Sat 8-6. From late August thru mid Sept. closes at 4:30. From late Sept. to mid June: open Mon-Fri 8-4:30. Wheelchair-accessible.
• LODE THEATER. Three screens. 510 Shelden. (906) 482-0280. Wheelchair-accessible: except toilets.
• BOOK WORLD. This lively, well-stocked general book shop, part of a chain based in Appleton, Wisconsin, has a good regional section, strong nature and children's books, and the best magazine selection in town. It also stocks premium cigars and imported cigarettes. 515 Shelden across from the Lode. Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-5. Wheelchair-accessible.
• WORLD FOODS. This well-stocked shop has a great range of Asian and Indian ingredients, with things also from Malaysia, and the Philippines, and foodstuffs from Africa and the Middle East upcoming. Lots of choices of rice, noodles, sauces, sweets, and much more. 318 Shelden (906) 482-1554. Tu-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-4.
 | | Mike Sackson, as affable a chap as you'd ever want to meet. | • MEDIASLAVE. Mike Sackson finally settled down following 14 years driving the equipment semi for many of the world's top rock performers—Janis Joplin, the Rolling Stones, Counting Crows, the B-52s, Red Hot Chili Peppers—the list goes on and on. After what Mike calculates to be 1,123,200 miles on the road, he set up a cool little shop where he buys, sells, and trades CDs, LPs, DVDs, and video games. 70s and 80s rock is his favorite. Check out his website (http//Xmediaslave.tv) and you'll see a nifty webcam-generated picture of the current activity in his store. 509 Shelden. (906) 482-3681.
• THE STUDIO. Grand Rapids native and wildlife photographer MIke Shupe created this eclectic shop, part art and crafts gallery, part ice cream parlor, part pizza shop, with an annex of Calumet's North End Frames. All the art, from wooden bowls to paintings, are by local artists. The Jilbert's ice cream, hand dipped, is in back, along with the homemade pizza that Mike promises is the best around (the Greek is the most popular). 514 Shelden. 11-10 Mon-Sat, 5-10 Sunday. (906) 369-7000.
• DOWN WIND SPORTS. More bases are covered here than at any other Keweenaw outdoor store: climbing, kayaking and canoeing, mountain biking, backpacking, downhill and cross-country skiing, teleskiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and skijouring. They also have products for customers' dogs. Store hours accommodate last-minute purchases by people going to Isle Royale on the twice-weekly Ranger III. In Copper Country clothing is casual, and North Face, Patagonia, and other clothes from Down Wind are the local form of a fashion statement. The staff is involved in all these sports.
Scheduled programs and events are publicized in the newsletter or on its website. The downtown location allows for convenient demos of mountain bikes and of kayaks (call for weekly time) so various models can be test paddled. Now cross-country skis, kayaks, and snowshoes can be rented - giving prospective buyers a chance to test different models. 808 Shelden/U.S. 41, two blocks past the Lode Theater, across from Hunan Restaurant. (906) 482-2500. From May thru Sept. open Mon, Wed, Thurs 9:30-6, Tues 8-6, Fri 8-8, Sat 9:30-5, Sun noon to 4. Oct-April: open Mon-Fri 9:30-6, Sat to 5, Sun noon to 4. Wheelchair-accessible.
• SURPLUS OUTLET. Outdoor gear that works in the U.P. is the stock in trade here. Here are Columbia for the whole family, Carhartts, wool Malone bib overalls, Woolrich, Duofold and Wigwam. There's an extensive shoe department with work boots and winter boots, plenty of kinds of gloves, and lots of Keweenaw T shirts and sweatshirts. 200 Shelden. (906) 482-2550. Mon-Thurs 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Fri to 8:30, Sat to 5, Sun noon to 4 in winter, 10 to 2 in summer. Wheelchair-accessible.
 | | The "tasting room" at Keweenaw Brewing has evolved into a hangout. | •KEWEENAW BREWING. Started in 2004 by a Michigan Tech grad from Denver and his partner, this microbrewery has quickly gained a devoted following and is now operating at capacity. In the back half of the building are the big copper brewing kettles. Upfront is the unpretentious tasting room that has evolved into a hangout/bar. Glasses of several draft ales, from pale to amber to brown, sell for $2/pint. The only food is nuts ($1/bag). Customers can also buy $6 half-gallon "growlers" which the bartender fills (or refills) upon purchase. the Pickaxe Blonde Ale is also canned and sold in some 60 stores in the region. 408 Shelden. (906) 482-5596.
• BACKROOM. This sprawling 12,500-square-foot shop reflects Houghton's refreshingly ungentrified downtown. It's a complex, funky place you can almost get lost in—part headshop, part New Age emporium, part novelty shop, part  | | Three posters in the Backroom's colorful blacklight room. | vendor of hippie home decor items like India print bedspreads and bear door curtains, part used bookshop, part adult bookstore, part internet cafe. One room has loads of incense, another is darkened to create a sensational space for psychedelic blacklight posters. The mezzanine is the headshop, full of hookahs, bongs, and other paraphenalia. On the main floor sixties posters grace the high walls. On the second floor, 100,000 used paperbacks are neatly filed in the back half. At the front, the Jolly Buddha internet cafe has seats where you can munch on a $1.50 burrito or $2.00 salad and enjoy a terrific view from big windows overlooking the main street and the spectacular waterway beyond. 109 Shelden. 11-8 Mon-Sat. 482-0637.
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