Gowan Block

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.[1]

Gowan Block
Location416 Ashmun St., Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Coordinates46°29′53″N 84°20′51″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1901
Built byLipsett & Sinclair
ArchitectEdward Demar (Charlton, Gilbert and Demar)
Architectural styleLate Victorian
Part ofSault Ste. Marie Historic Commercial District (ID100005683)
NRHP reference No.10000219[1]
Added to NRHPApril 27, 2010

History

John A. Gowan and Albert F. Pickford[2] opened a hardware store, Gowan & Pickford, in 1900.[3] 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.[4] The local Masonic Lodge began using upper floors in 1902.[5]

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.[4]

In 2010, after a few years of financial wrangling, the Masonic Block and the next-door Adams Building were purchased by a developer.[6] Renovations began, with the plan to provide 4,500 square feet of ground-floor commercial space and 24 apartments.[7] 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.[4]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. R.L. Polk & Co (1907), Michigan state gazetteer and business directory, R.L. Polk & Co, p. 1778
  3. Iron Age, 65, Chilton Company, 1900, p. 45
  4. R. O. Christensen (December 2009), National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Gowan Block
  5. John. H. Brownell; Arthur Maurice Smith; Joseph E. Morcombe; Richard Pride; George T. Campbell (1902), The American tyler-keystone: devoted to freemasonry and its concerdant others, 16, J. H. Brownell, p. 497
  6. Scott Brand (Jan 19, 2010). "Renovations on tap for old CSB building". Sault Ste. Marie Evening News. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013.
  7. Scott Brand (Jan 17, 2011). "Park Place City Center nearing completion". Sault Ste. Marie Evening News. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013.


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