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Centered on Washington between Front and Fourth, downtown Marquette is well worth exploring for its interesting shops and striking architecture. Washington Street has become much livelier in recent years, thanks to new specialty shops. It has a critical mass for strolling, snacking, and browsing. The densest center of shops is the 100 block of Washington between Front and Third. Restaurants and coffee bars are more on the edges, up or down Front Street and near it in the case of Brewbakers half a block west of Front on Spring. On Front at Bluff, the beautifully restored and expanded Peter White Library with gallery shop, exhibit space, and Greek café is another downtown attraction.
The most interesting streetscape is along Front Street from Ridge Street, down the steep hill paralleling the harbor. From Ridge or Bluff, the cityscape with hills beyond is one of the most memorable in the Upper Peninsula. Here buildings are older and more striking than the rest of downtown. The Gothic-inspired copper-roofed clock tower of the 1890 Marquette County Savings Bank is a real landmark, and the leafy designs carved in red sandstone enrich the street façade.
Downtown parking is plentiful but not obvious, complicated by the rental parking on many lots. The most convenient customer-only parking is one block downhill from Washington, behind the Delft Theater in the middle of Main between Front and Washington. At the deck behind the Peter White Library, only the lower level below street level is for customers.
Here are some noteworthy downtown points of interest, arranged from Front Street to Washington and then west.
• SILVER CROW. 201 South Front. Very large selection of silver and other stylish jewelry plus scarves other accessories, paintings, sculpture, woodworking, metal-smithing by local artists. 228-0518. Mon-Thurs 10-6, Fri to 8, Sat to 6, Sun 10-4.
• GETZ DEPARTMENT STORE. 218 South. Front. A downtown anchor, Getz carries brand-name men's, women's and teens' clothing and shoes for many occasions, from work and outdoors (Carhartts, Columbia, and The North Face are in the basement) to casual and dress. Teens love their second floor, with denim, skate and surfwear, and fashion-forward footgear of the moment. A third-generation family business, Getz has occupied this handsomely renovated building since 1900; it started in Michigamme in 1886. 226-3561. Open Mon-Fri 10 to 6, Sat 10-5, Sun noon-4. Handicap accessible.
• VIERLING RESTAURANT has the original saloon's back bar and a terrific view of Marquette Bay from its back windows. See #PAGE#Marquette. On Front at Main
•WELLS FARGO BANK. 101 W. Washington at Front. The Upper Peninsula's most splendid temple of commerce, this 1927 Beaux Arts building was designed to impress, starting with its massive exterior columns and the 25' ceiling of the grand banking hall. The lavish and well-preserved interior is well worth a visit for its bronze doors and chandeliers, its black and gold travertine marble, and its beautiful metal grilles. Louis Kaufman and Sam Cohodas, illustrious Marquette banking magnates, made this the flagship of their banking empire. (906) 228-1203. Open Mon-Fri 9-5.
• The NEW YORK DELI and ITALIAN PLACE faces Front Street just up from the corner of Washington. It's in the historic Harlow Block, built in 1887 by Marquette founding father Amos Harlow. Its exterior walls are a type of variegated local brownstone "called 'raindrop' for its purplish brown iridescence," according to architectural historian Kathryn Eckert in Buildings of Michigan. See Marquette restaurants. (906) 226-3032. Handicap accessible; restrooms in shared corridor.
• MICHIGAN FAIR. 114 W. Washington. Here is an attractive selection of gifts of Michigan: shirts, candles, books, and pantry foods. Some examples: Rifak Pottery, Michigan-theme tiles from Pewabic in Detroit, American Spoon jams and sauces, Mucky Duck mustard, Holland bowls, and Lakeshirts. (906) 226-3894. Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-5. Wheelchair access.
• WATTSON & WATTSON JEWELERS. 118 W. Washington. Visitors love the mine-like, walk-through exhibit about the old Ropes Gold Mine in nearby Ishpeming. At this full-range jewelry store, a window looks onto the back workshop where three jewelers work designing pieces, casting them using the lost wax process, setting stones, making repairs, and more. Another window looks onto the room where buffing and polishing takes place. The store's supply of Ropes gold is gone, but 14 karat gold is used in jewelry of regional interest: pins shaped like the Upper Peninsula, tiny mosquitoes, and such. There's now a rock room like a museum store, with geodes, fossils, wind chimes made of agates, and other mineral items. Fossils led to a striking new curiosity, a 50,000-year-old fossilized skeleton of a Siberian cave bear, over 6' high. (906) 228-5775. Open Mon-Fri 10-6. Sat 10-5. From June thru Dec also open Sundays noon to 4. Handicap accessible.
• TOWN FOLK GALLERY. 100 W. Washington. Town Folk features accomplished creations made out of vintage textiles by owner Sandy Belt. Also for sale are the kind of vintage linens that inspire her. Some of Sandy's patterns have been nationally publicized and distributed, beginning when she made dolls. (She no longer does.) She has reps in upper-end handcraft retailing. (906) 225-9010. Open Mon-Fri 10-5:30, Sat 10-5. Handicap accessible.
• BOOK WORLD. 136 W. Washington. This lively, well-stocked general book shop, part of a chain based in Appleton, Wisconsin, occupies what used to be the Nordic Theater. It has a good regional section, strong nature and children's books, and the best magazine selection in town. It also stocks premium cigars, pipes, and imported cigarettes. (906) 228-9490. Open daily 9-9, Sun 9-5. Handicap accessible.
• DONCKERS CANDY & GIFTS. 137 W. Washington. Donckers goes back to 1896. The vintage interior is from around 1917. Homemade fudge is the big seller here, but a big variety of candy is sold by the pound, with a quarter-pound minimum purchase: everyday bridge mix, sugar-free candy, upper-end chocolate truffles from Vermont, 18 barrels of hard wrapped candies, and realistic "Lake Superior candy pebbles" that enchant children. (They actually come from Colorado.) For nostalgic Detroiters, there's Sanders hot fudge. 625 square feet of gift basket items are in the back. (906) 226-6110. Mon-Fri 9:30-5:30, Sat 10-5. Handicap accessible.
• DEAD RIVER COFFEE. 143 Washington. Coffee enthusiasts Theo and Kate McCracken decided to make a midlife career change from Cleveland. Theo took a trip across the Upper Peninsula with their son, Alex, to investigate his old haunts near Sault Ste. Marie. They fell in love with Marquette and soon started this coffeehouse, which feels "like a real coffee joint" to fans familiar with West Coast coffee houses before the Starbucks era. Burlap coffee sacks dominate the décor. Now Alex is a NMU student and also involved in the business.
Using fresh-roasted beans is one secret of great coffee. The McCrackens roast on the premises in small batches. Coffees are not necessarily fair trade—politics can compromise quality—but at least "equitably traded" from estates that pay workers a living wage. Their coffee, which sells for $10 to $13 a pound, is said to be the best in town. Kate makes pies ($3/slice) and other baked goods. (906) 226-2112, Open Mon-Frii 7 a.m. to 9 p.m, Sat 8-9. Sun 9-5. Wheelchair-accessible.
• ART U.P. STYLE GALLERY and GIFTS. 153 W. Washington. Suite A. Paintings, pottery and sculpture by over a dozen area artists are featured at this attractive gallery/store that shares space with a frame shop and T shirt business. Many of the paintings, including proprietor Carol Papaleo's watercolors, are of landscapes and flowers pertaining to the Upper Peninsula. Handmade gifts are from around the world. (906) 226-6154. Tues-Fri 12-5, Sat 12-3 and by appt. . Handicap accessible: gallery.
• SUPERIOR VIEW STUDIO. 156 W. Washington at Third. Commercial photographer Jack Deo's studio and gallery sells prints from his vast archive of historic Upper Peninsula photos, now expanded to include subjects from throughout and beyond Michigan. Now he has Hollywood and sports images, too. Jack sees himself as the appreciative heir and keeper of a distinguished tradition of studio photographers who used great energy and artistry to chronicle the Upper Peninsula's development and to preserve records of the natural world.
Jack's archive of historic photos began in the late 1970s when, just out of Northern Michigan University, he began collecting old cameras at auctions. He had a chance to buy up the extensive contents of the mothballed studio of the B. F. Childs Art Gallery, active in Ishpeming from the 1870s into the 1950s. There were wetplate stereo negatives from the trip Childs took around Lake Superior in the 1870s in a Mackinaw boat with an Indian guide. Childs' photos were very much like William Henry Jackson's famous Yellowstone photographs: the same subjects (Indian life, natural landmarks, lake scenes), the same era, and the same attitude toward primeval nature.
"When I ran into the Childs collection, it was destiny," Jack believes. Everything came together for him: his interest in history, old photographic equipment, and printmaking; his central U.P. location in Marquette; and the synergies with his own growing photography studio. That find inspired him to buy the contents of many more studios. A year later, a fire destroyed the Childs studio and its remaining contents.
Today visitors can look through some of Jack's 50,000 historic images in Jack's collection here at Superior View, or at the seasonal "Views of the Past " in Mackinaw City, or online at the Views of the Past web site.
Some of Jack's images are in category bins, shrink-wrapped and ready to be framed. Others are framed. For 25 cents visitors can experience historic 3-D photography of Upper Peninsula nature views with a stereopticon, a Victorian parlor standby. (906) 225-1952. Open Mon-Sat 10-5. Wheelchair-accessible.
• The DELFT THEATER, the oldest of Marquette's three movie theaters, has a nifty marquee at 139 W. Washington. The entrance is actually in back by the parking lot in back. Get there by turning south on Third from Washington, then turning east onto Main. Call for films: (906) 228-6463.
• HOTPLATE. 101 South Third, side entrance of corner storefront. Sue Kensington designed her paint-your-own pottery shop as a fun place to meet with friends and paint ceramics for custom home décor or really personal gifts. Inspiring examples abound. $13-$21 for mugs, $19 for salad plates, $23 for dinner plates. Full-spectrum lights and upbeat colors chase away the winter blues. (906) 228-9577. Open Mon-Sat 11-6 except Thurs to 9. Sun noon to 4. Wheelchair accessible.
• SNOWBOUND BOOKS. 118 N. Third, half a block up the Third Street hill. Snowbound is a large, well organized, and friendly general book shop (new (typically discounted), used, and out of print) with an excellent regional and maritime section. Audio books are also here. Michigan and nature are especially well represented, and the Upper Peninsula section may well be the best anywhere. This is the place to find first editions of Marquette's literary and fishing legend, John Voelker (a.k.a. Robert Traver, author of Anatomy of a Murder). Book lovers will enjoy the eclectic, offbeat mix. (906) 228-4448; 800-247-8670. Open Mon-Fri 9:30 to 6, Thursday to 7, Sat 9:30 to 5. Handicap accessible: one step.
• CHAPTER TWO. 124 North Third, two doors up from Snowbound. At Snowbound's remaindered book store, new books and audiobooks at radically discounted prices have been chosen to reflect area interests, so there's a good deal about fishing, nature, and winter, among many other subjects. (906) 228-4448. Open Mon-Fri 10-6, Sat to 5. Wheelchair-accessible.
• FEDERAL BUILDING/Marquette POST OFFICE. 202 W. Washington at Fourth. This impressive modernistic big building from 1936 has some nifty Deco touches and a WPA mural of Father Marquette exploring Lake Superior's shores. (906) 226-9963. Lobby open Mon-Fri from 6:15 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., Sat 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Handicap accessible: enter lower level from Washington, take elevator straight ahead.
• OLD MARQUETTE CITY HALL. 220 Washington. Take a look at the elaborately ornamented Romanesque entryway and scrolled iron grates by the stairs. Nathan Kaufman was mayor during the Panic of 1893, when the nationwide financial panic closed Michigan's iron mines. In Historic Buildings of Michigan, Kathryn Eckert tells how Kaufman, "known locally as a 'capitalist and progressive,' convinced the city council and citizens to issue bonds for $50,000 to build a city hall with local labor and local materials, thereby putting Marquette men back to work." Recently the city sold the building to a private developer who had the means to create an office center. Open weekday business hours.
• BABYCAKES. 223 W. Washington. This popular cappuccino bar and bakery offers a rotating selection of muffins, tartlets, cookies, sandwiches, soups, and salads. See Restaurants. Open Mon thru Fri 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (906) 226-7744. Wheelchair-accessible.
• OASIS GALLERY. This exhibit gallery shows contemporary art in many media. Stimulating, wildly varied monthly exhibits may be thematic (the crow starred in one memorable exhibit), or a one-person show, or a group show like the annual high school show. Shows may highlight a technique. Oasis is a cooperative gallery, but not the typical kind intended mainly to showcase and sell members' art. Each Oasis member's main responsibility is to conceive of and curate one show a year, building on her or his own contacts to include works by artists from outside the area, sometimes from as far away as China. Organizer Christine Saari explains that the gallery can afford to show controversial and non-commercial art, like the show of belly casts of pregnant women, because its income comes from two successful annual fundraisers, the Holiday Sale and "Dinner by Artists," in which artists cook and perform for 150 people. New location and phone number are not finalized at this time. Call Marquette County CVB for location: (906) 228-7749. Open Tues-Sat 11 to 5. Handicap accessible.
• UNCOMMON THREADS. 443 W. Washington. Four downstairs rooms of a onetime house are filled with an unusual variety of yarns, mostly for knitting - everything from synthetics to luxury fibers like cashmere and silk, including novelty eyelash yarns knitted into boas that enliven that dependable workhorse of Upper Peninsula winter wardrobes, the turtleneck. Donna Kohut also gives classes, including summer one-nighters, at all levels, beginner to advanced. See her web site for details. Examples and pattern books abound. Everything is here for knitting traditional Scandinavian sweaters, mittens, and hats. Many yarns are so vividly and distinctively colored and textured that you can knit an unusual sweater without using complicated patterns - the yarn does all the work. Palettes range from vibrant to earthy.
(906) 225-1124. Mon-Fri 10-5:30, Thurs to 8, Sat 10-4. Wheelchair access: two steps up. Once inside, access is good.
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