Downtown St. Ignace

Downtown St. Ignace stretches along State Street for nearly half a mile. Here a focus is formed by Book World, Bentley’s Cafe and ice cream shop, and the Colonial House B&B with its charming bayview coffeehouse and deck. Extra parking is behind State Street shops.

The downtown here is one of those places that looks confusing to passing motorists but can be quite pleasant once you get out and walk. The central business district here consists of the inland side of State Street, facing the various ferry docks and parking areas. Downtown starts with the post office and extend half a mile north to City Hall. The harbor is always within view.

This riverfront stretch has gained greatly from continuing improvements made to the boardwalk and harborfront parks. St. Ignace has basic functional businesses (drugstore, large supermarket, etc.), not to be taken for granted in small towns based on tourism. Alas, the Justrite Bakery remains empty, and no other bakery has set up shop. Tourist shops are improving, especially with the advent of the Pavillion shops.

Noteworthy points of interest are arranged from south to north. (The Museum of Ojibwa Cuilture and its top-notch shop are described as separate points of interest.)

• THE PAVILION. Owner-developer-managers Elizabeth Brown and Phillip Baldwin have erected a beautiful arcade of
shops on the site of the old D&C variety store. There's an open-air fountain and seating at the street and a brick center aisle with chairs and tables. It's a perfect set-up for sipping cappuccino- and espresso-based drinks from the COFFEE SOCIETY in back. Smoothies, tea, and pop, plus teabags, and leaf teas are also available.
   Another shop, OH, BABY, BABY, offers mid- to upper-end clothes for babies up to 24 months. THE WINERY carries regional and international wines and beers plus gourmet jams, sauces, crackers, and kitchenware. Wine gift baskets can be made up while you wait. The Michigan wine section grows with each year. In July and August the Chamber of Commerce sponsors beer and wine tastings here.
180 N. State downtown across from Star Line dock. (906) 643-8020. The Pavilion is open year-round. Hours in peak season (mid June thru Labor Day) are from 8 to 9, to 10 Sat. before fireworks. Otherwise open 10-4 in fall, Wed-Sat 10-4 in winter

• DOCKSIDE GALLERY. Another shop in the Pavilion center, itis based on David and Jamie Holland's custom framing business. In addition to framing, it offers handmade jewelry, fine American collectibles and crafts, and nautical and other limited edition prints (often by Michigan artists). (906) 643-9475. Open year-round, by chance in the off-season, usually 10-5 in season, and after mid-October 10-4 Wed-Sat.

• BOOK WORLD. This 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. For those hooked on The New York Times, it's "a godsend," says one summer resident. 52 N. State. (906) 643-7569. Open daily year-round. Current hours: Mem. Day thru Labor Day: 10-8 Mon-Fri, to 5 Sat, noon-5 Sun noon-5. Off-season: Mon-Fri, closes at 6.

• THE EMPORIUM. Antique lighting and furniture, rewired, repaired, and ready to go, are the specialties at this large, general-line antique shop. Unlike most U.P. antique stores, The Emporium is not about primitives. Many customers come for upholstery fabric by the yard, and at attractive prices. The shop's upholstery work is way booked up. 110 N. State. (906) 643-6565. Open year-round, Mon-Sat 9-5, and by chance or appointment. Wheelchair access: one step.

• FORT de BUADE INDIAN MUSEUM. Gradually the Upper Great Lakes collections of the late Lansing dentist Donald Benson are being organized into a user-friendly and free museum with 6,700 square feet of exhibits. They are based on Native Americans from before European contact, through natives and Europeans in the French and English trading eras, into the period of American settlement and cultural dominance. Some farming and lumber tools are from the 19th-century Santigo people, from whom many local people are descended.
   Now the museum belongs to the City of St. Ignace, helped by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Curator Bill Peek is steadily working at reorganizing Dr. Benson's huge collection, interpreting and labeling objects so that they tell the story. He has put Native American artifacts in front, along with a display about Father Marquette and the Jesuit mission. Sweetgrass and pine needle basketry and quillwork are up front, too.
   Another display is about Company K of the First Michigan Sharpshooters in the Civil War, recruited from mainly Ojibwe and Odawa men in Northern Michigan and the Saginaw and Pentwater areas. They fought with the Army of the Potomac at some
especially brutal battles: Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg. Not only were the Native Americans excellent shooters, but they made some of the first uses of camouflage. For instance, to subdue the bright blue of their uniforms, they rolled in the mud. This innovation was at first dismissed as nutty, "but after while everybody did it," says Peek.
   Weaponry of Native Americans, French, English, and Americans is also part of the collection. There's a hands-on collection of furs and bones, and stamps to make animal tracks with. Wednesday around the noon hour there's a children's presentation by a historian or nature interpreter. Call to confirm. The actual French Fort de Buade from 1671 seems to have been somewhere around City Hall. 334 North State. (906) 643-6622. Free admission.

• DOUD'S MARKET. A branch of the Mackinac Island Doud's, this spiffy new market is convenient—about the size of a Trader Joe's—with a country-market style produce section, a full grocery section (not at gourmet prices), beer and wine, deli sandwiches, a full-service bakery with eat-in tables and outdoor tables in front. It occupies a long-vacant A&P/IGA space. Large group photos show a thousand townspeople in 1922 and again in the 1970s. Local children were required to be in the Black Gown Tree pageant. (The "tree" was a cross.)
399 N. State, across from city hall. Parking on both sides. (906) 643-9000. Open 7 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. Open to 10 p.m. Fri & Sat, probably to 11 in summer. Handicap extra: motorized cart.

An old postcard of Indian Village.

• INDIAN VILLAGE. A classic of picturesque tourism. "Neon and wooden teepees attract motoring tourists to this colossal souvenir warehouse," writes Kathryn Eckert in Buildings of Michigan, her monumental survey of Michigan's historic buildings. "The long metal building is faced with cedar bark, [and inside] wallpapered with birch bark decorated with pictographs of arrows, animals, canoes, and headdresses." This building from 1977 resembles the 1927 landmark which it replaced. Inside are longtime staples of the tourist trade: Minnetonka moccasins and sandals, cowboy hats and Indian headdresses, cedar boxes, dreamcatchers, crystal figures, and sweats and Ts with designs based on eagles, Native Americans, and wolves.499 N. State, across from the Ojibwe Museum.(906) 643-8980. Open from mid May into Oct Mem Day thru Truck Show 8:30 to 8, 9, or 10, depending on business. Otherwise open 9-5.
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