Gowan Block

{{short description|Historic commercial building in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Gowan Block

| nrhp_type =

| nrhp_type2 = cp

| nocat = yes

| partof = Sault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial District

| partof_refnum = 100005683

| image = GowanBlock-SaultSteMarieMI.jpg

| caption =

| location = 416 Ashmun St., Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

| coordinates = {{coord|46|29|53|N|84|20|51|W|display=inline,title}}

| locmapin = Michigan#USA

| built = 1901

| architect = Edward Demar (Charlton, Gilbert and Demar)

| builder = Lipsett & Sinclair

| architecture = Late Victorian

| added = April 27, 2010

| area = less than one acre

| refnum = 10000219{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}

The Gowan Block, also known as the Masonic Block, was built as a commercial building and meeting hall located at 416 Ashmun Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Along with the next-door Adams Building, it is now part of the Park Place City Center, a mixed commercial and residential development. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

History

John A. Gowan and Albert F. Pickford{{citation | title = Michigan state gazetteer and business directory | author = R.L. Polk & Co | publisher = R.L. Polk & Co | year = 1907 | page = 1778| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=absfAQAAMAAJ&q=%22416+ashmun%22&pg=RA3-PA2724}} opened a hardware store, Gowan & Pickford, in 1900.{{citation | title=Iron Age | volume = 65 | publisher = Chilton Company | year = 1900 | page = 45 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OOAcAQAAMAAJ&q=%22gowan+%26+pickford%22}} In 1901, Gowan and Pickford decided to construct a new building, and retained the local firm of Charlton, Gilbert & Demar to design the structure. They hired local contractors Lipsett & Sinclair to build the new structure for $31,700, and construction began in mid-1901, finishing around the end of the year. After construction, Gowan and Pickford occupied the south third of the ground floor, with the remainder housing one portion of the Prenzlauer Bros.' general store, which also occupied a nearby building.{{citation | title = National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Gowan Block | author = R. O. Christensen | date = December 2009 | url = https://catalog.archives.gov/id/25339164}} The local Masonic Lodge began using upper floors in 1902.{{citation | title = The American tyler-keystone: devoted to freemasonry and its concerdant others | volume = 16| number = 21 | author1 = John. H. Brownell | author2 = Arthur Maurice Smith | author3 = Joseph E. Morcombe | author4 = Richard Pride | author5 = George T. Campbell | publisher = J. H. Brownell | year = 1902 | page = 497 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=-B_nAAAAMAAJ&dq=%22gowan+block%22+sault&pg=PA497}}

By 1908 the Prenzlauer Bros. store vacated the building, and around 1920 Woolworth's moved into that portion of the ground floor. Gowan & Pickford remained in the southern third, changing its name to Gowan Hardware in 1911 when Albert Pickford left the firm. Gowan Hardware closed in 1949, and Woolworth's expanded into the vacated space.

In 2010, after a few years of financial wrangling, the Masonic Block and the next-door Adams Building were purchased by a developer.{{cite news|title=Renovations on tap for old CSB building |author=Scott Brand |newspaper=Sault Ste. Marie Evening News |date=Jan 19, 2010 |url=http://www.sooeveningnews.com/news/x1672016647/Renovations-on-tap-for-old-CSB-building |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202175827/http://www.sooeveningnews.com/news/x1672016647/Renovations-on-tap-for-old-CSB-building |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 2, 2013 }} Renovations began, with the plan to provide 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 24 apartments.{{cite news|title=Park Place City Center nearing completion |author=Scott Brand |newspaper=Sault Ste. Marie Evening News |date=Jan 17, 2011 |url=http://www.sooeveningnews.com/features/x1334358926/Park-Place-City-Center-nearing-completion |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130203015803/http://www.sooeveningnews.com/features/x1334358926/Park-Place-City-Center-nearing-completion |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 3, 2013 }} The project is known as "Park Place City Center."

Description

The Gowan Block is a Late Victorian three-story brick commercial building with a broad front facade. The front is substantially finished with yellow-buff brickwork, with reddish-brown sandstone used for piers at the outer edges and surrounding the third-story windows. The ground floor has three storefronts. The second floor has seven bays filled with windows and separated by metal pilasters.

References

External links

[http://parkplacecitycenter.com/ Park Place City Center] home page

{{National Register of Historic Places listings in Chippewa County, Michigan}}

Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Category:Victorian architecture in Michigan

Category:Commercial buildings completed in 1901

Category:Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Chippewa County, Michigan

Category:1901 establishments in Michigan