Main Street Historic District (Flushing, Michigan) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Main Street Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in Michigan Show map of Michigan Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Main St. from Maple to 628 Main St. Flushing, Michigan
NRHP reference No.	83000846
Added to NRHP	June 20, 1983

Welcome to the Main Street Historic District in Flushing, Michigan! This special area is full of old buildings that tell stories about the past. It stretches along Main Street, from Maple to 628 East Main Street, and also includes the old Flushing Depot at 431 West Main Street.

All the buildings here are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites that are protected. There are 82 buildings in this district, covering about 22.4 acres. Many of the shops and businesses were built between 1850 and 1918. They show off cool styles like Italianate and early 20th-century designs. The homes in the district were built from 1850 to 1932 and feature a mix of styles, including Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Bungalow styles.

Exploring Flushing's Historic Buildings

The Henry H. Chatters & Charles N. Talbot Building

This impressive three-story brick building is located at 100 East Main Street. It was built in 1889.

Henry Chatters and Charles Talbot started a general store here. The first floor was for their business. The second floor was a dining room and a dance hall, which sounds like a fun place! The third floor was built as a meeting place for a group called the Masonic lodge. The lodge bought the whole building in 1911. Later, from 1920 to 1959, a grocery store called Bueches Bros. (now Bueches Food World) used the first floor.

The Laurel House Hotel

You can find the Laurel House Hotel at 101 Main Street. This two-story brick building was built between 1890 and 1895.

Before this brick hotel, there was a wooden one on the same spot. That wooden hotel burned down in 1878. Mary Passmore, who owned the wooden hotel, built a new three-story brick building after the fire. It was used as a hotel. But after another fire on September 21, 1890, the top story was removed, making it a two-story building. By the mid-1920s, it was no longer a hotel. From 1894 to 1919, a local newspaper, The Flushing Observer, had its office on the second floor.

The Arza Niles & Lyman Davie Building

This three-story Italianate brick building at 104 Main Street was built in 1886. An extra third story was added in 1889.

Arza Niles and Lyman Davie built this structure. The third story was added for the Odd Fellows lodge, another community group, and they used it until 1916.

Davie's Opera House

Located at 107 East Main Street, Davie's Opera House was built in 1882.

Lyman E. Davie built this building. It holds a special piece of history: the first cornerstone ever laid in Flushing! This cornerstone came from the Flushing Stone Quarry. The opera house itself was on the second floor and even had a balcony. In 1916, the Odd Fellows lodge bought this building too.

The Franklin A Niles Building

This two-story brick building at 112-114 Main Street was built between 1890 and 1900.

It was built for Daniel Cotcher and Franklin Niles. They had a very successful hardware business since 1865 and moved it to this new location.

The J. B French Building

The J. B. French Building is at 115 Main Street.

James French built this building between 1889 and 1890 to house his hardware business.

The John L. Green/Jacob Kimmel Building/Corinthian Hall

You can find this building at 137 East Main Street (sometimes listed as 135). It's a two-story brick building, but it started as an early wooden building between 1850 and 1860. The brick exterior was added in 1891.

This building was originally a wooden blacksmith shop owned by John L. Green. Later, brick was added to the outside. Jacob Kimmel bought the building in 1880 and ran his business there. The second floor was known as Corinthian Hall. A room at the back of the building was even used to store a fire engine! This is the only original pioneer wooden building still standing in Flushing.

The Flushing Grange and Observer Building

This building, located at 208-214 East Main Street, was built in 1889.

The Grange building and three buildings next to it were all built around 1890. One was for the Perry Bros. store, another for George Hall (a businessman from Flint), and the fourth for Joseph Davis & Sons, who sold farm equipment. At one point, part of it was used by the Durant-Dort Carriage Co. The Flushing Observer newspaper moved into 214 Main Street in 1919.

The Presbyterian Church/Community Center

This historic building at 309 East Main Street was built between 1861 and 1864.

Construction started in 1861 but was delayed because of the Civil War. The church was finished in 1864, and its tall steeple was added in 1865. The church closed in 1921 and was given to the city to be used as the city hall. Sadly, the steeple was destroyed by a cyclone (a type of storm) in 1934.

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