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Warren Featherbone Company Office Building facts for kids

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Warren Featherbone Company Office Building
Warren Featherbone Company Office Building.JPG
Warren Featherbone Company Office Building is located in Michigan
Warren Featherbone Company Office Building
Location in Michigan
Warren Featherbone Company Office Building is located in the United States
Warren Featherbone Company Office Building
Location in the United States
Location 3 N. Elm St., Three Oaks, Michigan
Area less than one acre
Built 1905 (1905)
Architect George Allen
Architectural style Renaissance Revival
NRHP reference No. 86000117
Added to NRHP January 23, 1986

The Warren Featherbone Company Office Building is a cool old building located at 3 North Elm Street in Three Oaks, Michigan. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, which means it's an important historical spot! Today, this building is home to the Three Oaks Public Library, where you can go read books and learn new things.

How the Featherbone Idea Started

Edward K. Warren came to Three Oaks in 1858 and opened a store that sold everyday goods. Back then, women's dresses often had stiff pieces called "whalebone stays" to help them keep their shape. But these whalebones broke easily, and people often complained about them.

Edward Warren also visited a company that made feather dusters. He learned that they threw away turkey wing feathers because they were too stiff for dusters. This gave him an idea! He wondered if these strong feather quills could replace the fragile whalebone stays. After trying out different ways to use them, he finally made a perfect product he called "featherbone."

Building a Business: The Warren Featherbone Company

In 1883, Edward Warren started the Warren Featherbone Company to make his new featherbone stays. His invention was a huge hit right away! The company grew quickly and opened offices in big cities like Chicago.

By 1905, the company needed a bigger main office. So, Edward Warren hired an architect named George Allen to design this very building. It became the main headquarters for both the Warren Featherbone Company and the Warren Bank.

What Happened Next: New Owners and Uses

Edward K. Warren passed away in 1919, but his companies kept going strong. In 1928, both the Warren Featherbone Company and the Warren Bank moved to a new building. Over the years, the Warren Featherbone Company changed what it made and now works in healthcare and education.

After the building was empty, it was sold to the Edward K. Warren Foundation. This foundation was set up by Edward Warren in 1917 to help people and communities. The Foundation even donated land for two popular places in Michigan: Warren Dunes State Park and Warren Woods State Park! For a while, the Foundation used this building to show off its museum collection.

In 1951, the museum gave all its items to Michigan State University. After that, different businesses used the building. Then, in 1983, the Bank of Three Oaks bought it. This bank was connected to Edward K. Warren's original bank. They fixed up the building to use as their offices.

Different banks used the building until 1999, when Fifth Third Bank sold it to the Three Oaks Township Public Library. The library moved in during 2000 and is still there today, serving the community!

Looking at the Building: Design and Style

The Warren Featherbone Company Office Building is a three-story building made of brick. It's designed in a style called Renaissance Revival architecture, which means it looks like buildings from the Renaissance period in Europe.

The building is on a street corner, so two sides of it are very visible. These main sides are covered in orange brick and have fancy limestone decorations. The front of the building is balanced and looks the same on both sides. The first floor has wide, arched doorways. The second floor has square windows, and the third floor has round windows with tall, thin columns next to them. A metal trim runs along the very top of the building.

Inside, the main entrance leads to a lobby. From there, you can go upstairs or into what used to be the banking room and Edward K. Warren's office. The back of the building has a large room that was once used for making or storing products for the Featherbone Company. The second floor had offices in the front and a big public banking area in the back. The third floor was originally used for storage.

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