#TBT Michigan Asylum for Insane Criminals … and a Postcard Show!

Posted on by farlane

Ionia Michigan Insane Asylum

Michigan Asylum for Insane Criminals, photo by Don (the UpNorth Memories Guy) Harrison

Don wanted me to be sure to let everyone know about this weekend’s annual Traverse City Antique Postcard & Rare Paper Show on August 16 from 10 AM – 4 PM at Northwestern Michigan College’s Hagerty Center. It’s a great chance to view some incredible pics of Michigan’s history … and from all over!

Speaking of history, Asylum Projects page on the Ionia State Hospital says:

The building of the Ionia State Hospital was authorized in 1883 and was opened under the name of the Michigan Asylum for Insane Criminals in 1885. It was found that this name was objectionable as not all of the patients in the hospital were criminals, so the name was changed by legislative action to Ionia State Hospital. The patients committed to this hospital were insane felons, criminal sexual psychopaths, insane convicts from other prisons, patients transferred from other state institutions that had developed dangerous or homicidal tendencies and persons charged with a crime but acquitted on the grounds of insanity. Initially the hospital patients were housed at the site of the Michigan Reformatory.

The hospital was called the North Branch and the farm located on Riverside Drive was called the South Branch. When a large fire broke out at the hospital, all of the rooms were needed to house prisoners, so all of the hospital patients were sent to the South Branch farm. Since that time, the hospital has been located on the grounds of the Riverside Correctional Facility. The hospital was used to treat the mentally ill as well as the criminally insane until 1972, when civilians were removed from the hospital. In 1977, the Legislature transferred the operation to the Department of Corrections when it began operation as a correctional facility. The facility was closed with the reopening of the Michigan Reformatory.

Click through for some pics including a couple of cool panoramas!

View the photo background big and see more from UpNorth Memories on Flickr!

Night Mill: Dundee’s Old Mill Museum

Posted on by farlane

Night Mill

Night Mill, photo by The Ottolab

The Old Mill Museum is Dundee’s historical museum. Their history page says that over the years, it has served as a grist mill, hydro-electric power plant, Ford factory and fabricating factory.

The three-story frame mill as we know it was built in 1848-49 by Alfred Wilkerson, as a grist mill. The nearby dam had been constructed out of logs in 1846.

The building is of Greek Revival design, popular in Monroe County in the 1840s. “It is compact, geometric and of exquisite proportion,” according to the community’s Sesquicentennial Book, published in 1974.

The windows are double-hung with multiple lights. The exterior doors are divided horizontally (Dutch) and the overall design is symmetrical.

Hand-hewn beams, 10×10 inches for the main columns, support the building. The roof, floors and other connections were made with oak pegs. No longer existing are two smaller additions at the rear of the mill which were used to store flour barrels and milling tools during the building’s grist mill days.

Read on for much more.

View the Ottolab’s night exposure of the mill background bigtacular and see more in his slideshow.

May Tulips at Belle Isle Conservatory

Posted on by farlane

Belle Isle Conservatory - Detroit, Michigan

Belle Isle Conservatory – Detroit, Michigan, photo by David Marvin

Dan Austin of Historic Detroit has an excellent article on the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Belle Isle that begins:

If Belle Isle is Detroit’s crown, then the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is its brightest emerald, full of brilliant green ferns, palms and cacti and plant life from all over the world.

The conservatory, opened in the center of the island on Aug. 18, 1904, the same day as its next door neighbor, the Belle Isle Aquarium. Both were designed by Albert Kahn, who for the conservatory turned to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello for inspiration. It sits on 13 acres and features a lily pond on its north side and is fronted by formal perennial gardens on the west. These gardens are home to theLevi L. Barbour Memorial Fountain. For the first 51 years of its existence, the building was known as simply the Conservatory or the Horticulture Building. Today, the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory is the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States.

The building covers about an acre and has five areas, each housing a different climate, and features a north wing and a south wing and a 100,600 cubic feet dome 85 feet high to accommodate soaring palms and other tropical plants. The north wing houses hundreds of cacti and desert plants, and just beyond that is a room packed with ferns from floor to ceiling. The south is home to hundreds of tropical plants and the Children’s Christian Temperance Fountain. The collection also includes perennial gardens and displays of annuals. The show house, remodeled in 1980, features a continuous display of blooming plants.

Definitely read on at Historic Detroit on for how the Conservatory got its name and became home to the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country. There’s also a great historic photo gallery.

Here’s the official site for Belle Isle Conservatory. The hours are Wednesday-Sunday, 10 AM – 5 PM and the Belle Isle Aquarium is open Saturdays and Sundays as well.

View David’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his slideshow.

More spring wallpaper on Michigan in Pictures.

 

Observation Deck coming to Penobscot Building

Posted on by farlane

Guardian Building

Guardian Building, photo by Michael G Smith

Sometimes I find things and forget to post about them. A couple weeks ago, there was a feature from WXYZ in Detroit that the Detroit’s Penobscot Building plans to open observation deck:

New York has the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center, Chicago has the Hancock Observatory, but the doors to our city’s skyline have been closed for decades.

That’s changing, thanks to the historic Penobscot Building’s new plans to re-open its observation deck.

Kim Farmer has worked at the building since the 1990’s. She has seen owners come and go, but these new plans are what she calls, “pretty gutsy moves.”

“We plan on lighting up here, LED lights comparable to the Empire State Building,” the Vice President of Operations and Leasing told WXYZ.

There are plans to incorporate a banquet facility, and a ticket fee to reach the top. The goal is to complete the observation deck project by summer 2016.

Read on for more and thanks  for the find!

Michael took this shot a couple of years ago from the Penobscot. View it big as a building and see more in his Wirt Rowland, Architect slideshow.

PS: Read more about the Penobscot (once the 8th tallest building in the world and now 2nd tallest in Detroit) and the Guardian Building on Michigan in Pictures. They were both designed by Wirt C. Rowland, who was a heck of an architect!

 

Bridge to the North

Posted on by farlane

Mackinac Bridge

Mackinac Bridge, photo by Dan Moran

If you want to call this the world’s most beautiful bridge, you’ll get no argument from me.

View Dan’s photo background bigtacular and settle into his slideshow for a couple more amazing shots from Michigan. Then – because everyone needs a vacation every so often – keep watching for some jaw-dropping pics from Alaska. Seriously: wow, wow, WOW.

There’s lots more winter wallpaper and lots more of the Mackinac Bridge on Michigan in Pictures.

The Beacon

Posted on by farlane

Beacon Detroit

The Beacon, photo by Lou Peeples

Gorgeous shot of the Motor City from Lou. View it bigger, see lots more of his Detroit photos on Flickr and also check his work out at pointephotography.net.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Don’t Fall On Me

Posted on by farlane

Don't. Fall. On. Me.

Don’t. Fall. On. Me., photo by DetroitDerek Photography

I think I have some days like this too.

Check it out bigger and see more in Derek’s massive Detroit slideshow. If you’re interested in purchasing this or another photo, email Derek.

For another perspective, try flying above the Penobscot Building in Google Earth!

$80 Million Michigan Central Station Makeover?

Posted on by farlane

Michigan Central Station, Detroit, MI 2013

Michigan Central Station, Detroit, MI 2013, photo by brian

The Lansing State Journal reports on Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Maroun’s plan for an $80-million makeover of Michigan Central Station:

Michigan Central Station, a well-known symbol of Detroit’s decay, is expected to get $80 million in renovations over the next three years, according to a top aide to depot owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun. The revelation was made by Moroun associate Dan Stamper as he went before the Detroit City Council last week to discuss alternative plans to the city selling land needed for a new bridge to Canada.

…At Tuesday’s council meeting, Councilwoman Saunteel Jenkins said she was happy to see Moroun’s associate promise to help that community.

“There is one building that you all have not demolished,” Jenkins said of the depot. “Whenever they show the demise of Detroit there are two buildings they always show — one is the Packard Plant, the other is the train station.”

“We are going to renovate the train depot,” Stamper replied. “It’s probably another three years to secure the building watertight.”

…Jenkins didn’t seem impressed with Stamper’s description of plans to renovate the train station.

“That’s a pledge that I’ve heard multiple times,” Jenkins said.

So the short answer: don’t hold your breath. Read on at the LSJ for more.

Brian shot this photo of MCS last September and suggests John Coltrane’s In a Sentimental Mood as the soundtrack. Put it on as you view the photo bigger or enjoy his b&w: land and city slideshow.

Lots more photos of Michigan Central Station on Michigan in Pictures.

Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant

Posted on by farlane

Sault Ste Marie Edison Water Treatment Plant

Sault Ste Marie Edison Water Treatment Plant, photo by Matt

Matt linked over to Top Plants: Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in PowerMag, which says (in part):

Hydroelectric projects are unique in that as long as the water is flowing and the mechanicals are periodically upgraded, there are few reasons their turbines won’t continue making electricity into the next century. The energy source may be renewable, but so is the plant itself. An exceptional example is Michigan’s 107-year-old Edison Sault Hydroelectric Plant, which combines historic architecture with modern technology to successfully generate 25 to 30 MW of electricity when operating at full load.

…Excavation of the hydropower plant’s canal began in September 1898 and was completed in 1902. Concurrently, construction of the Edison Sault Electric Hydroelectric Plant began in March 1900 and was completed in 1902. Official opening of the facility was held on October 25, 1902. At the time of completion, the plant was second only to Niagara Falls in terms of hydro development.

The facility is constructed of stone and steel. Much of the stone that was used was excavated from the power canal during its construction. Additional stone was used on other local landmarks throughout the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

You can read on for more (including diagrams) and visit the Cloverland Electric Cooperative Hydroelectric Plant page for more!

View Matt’s photo background bigtacular and see more in his Michigan Vacation slideshow. Speaking as someone who’s seen a fair amount of Michigan vacation photos – nice vacation Matt!!

More from Sault Ste. Marie on Michigan in Pictures!

Inside Point Betsie Lighthouse

Posted on by farlane

Point Betsie Lighthouse original Fresnel lens

Point Betsie Lighthouse original Fresnel lens, photo by 22 North Photography

Point Betsie Lighthouse is located on the shore of Lake Michigan just north of Frankfort. It has the distinction of being Michigan’s most photographed lighthouse, and now you can take your photography indoors! The Friends of Point Betsie Lighthouse detail the restoration of the lighthouse and grounds and say:

The first floor is now an exhibition area depicting the history of the lighthouse and the lifesaving operations of the U.S. Lifesaving Service and U.S. Coast Guard at Point Betsie. The rehabilitation process included the installation of all new utility components in the quarters, restoration of the interior walls and floors, and the complete renewal of the tower and lantern. Funding for these projects came from the Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program and a distinctive “Save America’s Treasures” award from the Federal Government, along with necessary matching contributions by Point Betsie’s private donors.

One key donation was for the restoration of the Victorian staircase in the assistant keeper’s quarters, a major gift in memory of former Assistant Keeper Henry LaFreniere and his wife Hattie. The stairway provides access to a beautiful two-bedroom vacation apartment, the rent from which is an important source of revenue for the light station. Another important historic contribution consisted of radiators that had previously heated Point Betsie’s adjacent Coast Guard station.

As the interior rehabilitation was moving forward, many gifts of furnishings and other period-appropriate items were donated or loaned to the Friends group for display and use. Other items, especially for the apartment, were carefully selected for purchase. The hopes of many Point Betsie devotees were realized when the beautiful Fourth-order Fresnel lens which provided the station’s sweeping beam for about a century was returned by the Coast Guard for display on the lighthouse’s first floor.

You can head over to the Point Betsie Lighthouse site for hours and also click over to the Michigan in Pictures Facebook for a few more photos of the new displays!

View the photo bigger and see more in the Inside Point Betsie gallery on Facebook.

More Point Betsie on Michigan in Pictures!