Boyne City Central Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Boyne City Central Historic District
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Water Street, looking west from Park
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Water, Pearl, Lake, Ray & Main Sts., Boyne City, Michigan |
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| Architectural style | Late Victorian commercial |
| NRHP reference No. | 12001071 |
| Added to NRHP | December 19, 2012 |
The Boyne City Central Historic District is a special area in Boyne City, Michigan. It's a historic district filled with old buildings. You can find it along Water and Lake Streets, plus parts of Main Street and South Park. This district also includes homes on Pearl Street. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. This means it's an important place to protect because of its history.
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What Makes the Boyne City Historic District Special?
The Boyne City Central Historic District has 75 buildings. It also includes the beautiful Sunset Park. Out of these buildings, 55 are considered "contributing." This means they help show the district's history. The other buildings either came later or were changed too much.
Exploring the Historic Buildings
This district covers Boyne City's old downtown area. It also includes the Pearl Street neighborhood. Many important business leaders lived here long ago. Most of the buildings were built between 1900 and 1910. This was when Boyne City was growing fast. A few buildings are even older, from before 1900. Some were built in the 1920s and 1930s. Others were added from World War II up to the early 1960s.
Types of Buildings and Their Styles
Most of the business buildings are one or two stories tall. Two buildings are taller, like the three-story IOOF Temple. The Wolverine Hotel is also a landmark. Nearly all buildings are made of brick. A few are made of wood.
Many buildings show the Late Victorian style. This style often has simple decorations. The IOOF Temple is a Renaissance Revival building. This means it looks like old Roman or Greek buildings. The Post Office nearby is a Classical Revival building. It also has a classic, grand look.
The homes on Pearl Street are mostly made of wood. They all have a similar size and shape. They also sit back from the street in a similar way.
Boyne City's Exciting History
Boyne City first started to grow in the 1870s. It was a small town for a while. Then, something big happened in the 1880s. A channel was finished connecting Lake Charlevoix to Lake Michigan. This made it easy to move goods and products by water.
How Boyne City Became a Boom Town
In 1883, a man named W.H. White came to Boyne City. He started a mill. Over the years, he added more industries. He used the many timber lands in the area. Thanks to White's efforts, Boyne City's industries grew. By the early 1900s, it was a true "boom town." The town's population jumped from 900 to over 5,000 people. This happened in just ten years!
The End of the Boom and What Remains
However, Boyne City's boom happened as the timber in northern Michigan was running out. Many mills and factories started to close. This happened in the late 1910s and early 1920s. The town's population dropped to under 3,000. Today, you won't find much left of Boyne City's early factories. But the Central Historic District is special. It has many buildings from that exciting "boom town" time. These buildings help us remember Boyne City's busy past.
