Downtown Houghton

Entering Houghton from the south on US-41, the highway passes the university, paralleling the Portage Waterway, becoming Shelden Ave. when it reaches downtown. At the bridge to Hancock, downtown abruptly ends.

Downtown along Shelden Avenue is distinctive and architecturally rich, a college town full of surprises to reward the perceptive pedestrian. A bike/footpath with benches and picnic spots goes along the waterfront a block below. Lavishly ornamented buildings from the mining boom accent the steep hillside. A diverse array of shops, boosted by modest rents, range from the practical (Surplus Outfitters and upscale Down Wind Sports for cold climate gear, a hardware store, several barber shops) to the more exotic (a tattoo parlor, head shop, a nifty California-theme women's fashions shop).

Downtown Houghton's cinema (now closed) is called, as befits an old mining town, the Lode.

An information-rich virtual walking tour of central Houghton is now online at www.cityofhoughton.com. The information-packed interpretive panels around town are rather hard to digest when you're standing and reading, but they're full of interesting nuggets—e.g., most downtown buildings were of a simple front-gable design that encouraged the area's heavy snows to fall to the sides.

This downtown still has a diverse business mix unusual for today: There's still a hardware store, law and real estate offices, restaurants and specialty shops, and a movie theater. Tech students and faculty, together with summer visitors, help sustain downtown.

The ornate Douglass House on Shelden, Houghton's main street that parallels the waterfront. Built in 1900, the former hotel has a terrific vintage bar, complete with rich woodwork and original Tiffany-type chandeliers hanging from a coffered ceiling.

The ornate Douglass House on Shelden, Houghton's main street that parallels the waterfront. Built in 1900, the former hotel has a terrific vintage bar, complete with rich woodwork and original Tiffany-type chandeliers hanging from a coffered ceiling.

Two taverns have opulent historic interiors and elaborate bars and back bars that go back to mining boom times. If you're strolling around, take a peek. They also serve food; see restaurant listings. The Douglass House Saloon, the oldest bar in town, is at downtown's east entrance, in the handsome orange brick Douglass House hotel, a local landmark with its square corner towers. It was erected in 1900 by local businessmen who wanted a first-class hotel for their town. Original Tiffany-type chandeliers hang from the saloon's coffered ceiling with its rich woodwork. On downtown's other end at 126 Shelden, the Ambassadorhas a back bar with a vintage landscape mural populated by cavorting and carousing gnomes. A third memorable beer-drinking setting (with good hamburgers, too) is the Downtowner Lounge's outdoor deck overlooking the Portage Waterway, behind the bar at 100 Shelden.

Here are some noteworthy downtown businesses, arranged from east (closer to Tech campus) to west (the lift bridge). Shelden is one way from east to west. The other direction, west to east, is one street up the hill, along Montezuma. There's plenty of parking on decks entered north (toward the waterway) off Shelden or from the street below it.

• ISLE ROYALE NATIONAL PARK VISITOR CENTER & BOOKSTORE. By the dock of the Ranger III, this space accommodates an information center where park staff with detailed maps can answer some of the questions prospective visitors have. It also contains a small nature bookstore run by the Isle Royale Natural History Association to benefit the park. Its maps, videos, and posters are either about Isle Royale or about subjects pertaining to it, such as wolves, moose, field guides, and Native American culture. Some poster images are from the natural history association's artist-in-residence program. A substantial portion of all merchandise profit goes to the national park. Mail orders are welcome; call (800) 678-6925. For the complete online catalog, visit www.irnha.org . Adjoining the shop are offices of National Park Service Isle Royale staff. By the dock at 800 E. Lakeshore. From Shelden Ave./U.S. 41, look for signs, turn north just before entering downtown at the tall Franklin Square Inn. National Park (906) 482-0984. From mid June thru mid August: open Mon-Sat 8-6. From mid August thru mid June closes at 4:30. Wheelchair-accessible.

• CYBERIA CAFÉ. (906) 482-2233. Wi-fi internet (free with purchase), many espresso drinks, fruit drinks, smoothies, and teas, and a laid-back atmosphere give this coffeehouse a fascinatingly varied customer base: bright and nonconformist high schoolers, occasional Tech faculty, MTU students in deadline mode, friends of all ages, retiree regulars, moms and their kids. Food includes baked goods and sweets, plus a soup of the day. 524 Shelden at Isle Royale. Open daily. Mon-Fri 7 a.m.-11 p.m. Sat & Sun 9 a.m-11 p.m. Wheelchair-accessible.

• BOOK WORLD. (906) 482-8192. This lively, well-stocked general book shop, part of a chain based in Appleton, Wisconsin, has a good regional section, strong nature and children's books, and the best magazine selection in town. It also stocks premium cigars and imported cigarettes. 515 Shelden across from the Lode. Mon-Sat 9-9, Sun 9-5. Wheelchair-accessible.

• LODE THEATER. Cool vintage marquee, but this legendary movie theater closed in 2010.

• KEWEENAW BREWING COMPANY. Click the name to see this point of interest.

• WORLD FOODS. This much-needed shop is sort of like Whole Foods without the fancy prices. For those in the Keweenaw who love to make authentic Asian, Indian, and East Indian dishes, this unassuming shop, crammed with spices, oils, nuts,, sauces dried beans, and much more, is a godsend. Only about 40% of the customers are American. The majority are foreign students and faculty at the university.
    But for many it's the fresh but inexpensive produce (available in summer Friday and Saturday, otherwise Thursday through Saturday) that draws crowds. Residents of cities like Detroit, Chicago, & Minneapolis tell the owner they wish they had a World Foods where they live. 318 Shelden Avenue. (906) 482-1554
Mon-Thurs 11-6, Fri-Sat 10-7.

• FRAMED BY KATHY. (906) 482-3550. More than a frame shop, it also sells artist's supplies—oil paints, brushes, and such. 314 Shelden in The Marketplace mall. Open Mon-Fri 10:30-5:30. Wheelchair accessible from front and from rear parking ramp.

• DOWN WIND SPORTS. (906) 482-2500. More bases are covered here than at any other Keweenaw outdoor store: climbing, kayaking and canoeing, mountain biking, backpacking, downhill and cross-country skiing, teleskiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, and skijouring. The staff is involved in all these sports. They also have products for customers' dogs. Store hours accommodate last-minute purchases by people going to Isle Royale on the Ranger III. In the Copper Country clothing is casual-functional, and North Face, Patagonia, and other clothes from Down Wind are the local forms of a fashion statement.
     Scheduled programs and events are in the newsletter or on its website. The downtown location allows for convenient demos of mountain bikes and of kayaks (call for weekly time) so various models can be test paddled. Now cross-country skis, kayaks, and snowshoes can be rented—prospective buyers a chance to test different models. 308 Shelden/U.S. 41, two blocks past the Lode Theater, across from Hunan Restaurant. downwindsports.com. Mon-Fri 10-7, Sat 10-6. Sunday noon-4. Wheelchair-accessible.

• The WICKER & WILLOW COMPANY. (906) 483-0251. This unusual shop combines gift basket components (sweets like Sanders toppings and fudge sauce and many classics of Finnish design that haven't been available here in awhile. Here are marimekko towels, bathrobes, handbags and more; aarika wood jewelry; iitala bowls and candleholders and those beautiful glass birds in luminous patterns of swirls and dots. Seasonal picnicware is fun and elegant. 300 Shelden next to The Print Shop and parking ramp entrance. Open Mon-Sat 10-5:30, Wheelchair-accessible.

• SURPLUS OUTLET. (906) 482-2550. Outdoor gear that fits U.P. conditions is the stock in trade here. Here are Columbia for the whole family, Carhartts, wool Malone bib overalls, Woolrich, Duofold and Wigwam, Keen, Smartwool, Underarmour. There's an extensive shoe department with work boots and winter boots, plenty of kinds of gloves, and lots of Keweenaw T-shirts and sweatshirts. 200 Shelden. Mon-Fri 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Sat 9 to 5, Sun noon to 4. Wheelchair-accessible.

• WINDEYE: ARCHITECTURALS and ANTIQUES. (906) 483-4799. Fabulous stained glass window, lamps, fretwork, and unusual furniture pieces, mostly from the Copper Country's glory days and the Arts & Crafts era. If you're familiar with southeastern Michigan antiques and this reminds you of Reynold Lowe's Materials Unlimited in Ypsilanti or the late Ned Duke's Royal Oak gallery, it's no wonder. Owner Jack Morris supplied them with many pieces, wholesale. He was Ned's main supplier, he says — and Ned's stained glass was dazzling, as patrons of his first venture, Mr. Flood's Party tavern in Ann Arbor, remember.
     Here in this distinctive downtown building, near his Keweenaw home, Jack has assembled the cream of the crop, he says, the most interesting things, to give customers an idea of the scope and quality of his stock. Art Nouveau is his personal favorite, as befitting someone who studied both art and biology (as Western Michigan University). He began buying antiques, stained glass windows, unusual doors up here in the 1970s, when many old buildings in Calumet were uninhabited, and wholesaling them to other dealers. He still travels ten days a month, selling and buying in a five-state loop. His partner Sherry Lamoreaux minds the store. 113 Shelden, next to Backroom and parking ramp. Enter in rear; drive is by parking ramp. Handicap access: call. Summer hours thru color season: Tues-Fri 3-6, Sat 1-5. Longer summer hours. Also open by chance.

• BACKROOM MULTI-ENTERTAINMENT. (906) 482-0637. This sprawling 12,500-square-foot shop (formerly Kirkish Furniture) is a complex, funky place you can almost get lost in. The first floor is part head shop, part New Age emporium, part novelty shop, part vendor of exotic home decor items like bead door curtains, fountains, African and Tibetan things. One room has loads of incense, another is darkened to create a sensational space for psychedelic black light posters. 1960s posters grace the high walls. The mezzanine is the head shop, full of hookahs, bongs, and other paraphernalia. Upstairs is part used bookshop (over 100,000 used paperbacks are neatly filed in the back), plus video games, DVDs, adult books etc. 109 Shelden. 11-7 Mon-Sat. Sun 12-4. Wheelchair access: through front door for ground floor. For second floor, from back entrance off parking ramp between Montezuma and Shelden.

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