LANSING, Michigan — Fourteen historic Michigan properties were honored by being added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The list is the federal government's full roster of sites worthy of preservation due to their historical significance.
The register has honored more than 96,000 properties nationwide, including almost 2,000 in Michigan since its inception in the 1960s.
Properties on the list must be at least around 50 years old, must be significant in regards to a historical event or a community, state or nation and must be able to convey their significance.
“From Detroit to the Soo and from individual properties to complexes and historic districts, these historic properties tell the stories of our communities, our state, and our nation," said Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer Martha MacFarlane-Faes. "They illustrate our shared history, foster a sense of pride in our communities, provide recognition of our historic places, and generate investment and economic activity."
One of the selected properties is right here in Grand Rapids. The former Sisters of the Order of Saint Dominic Motherhouse Complex, located at 2025 Fulton Street East. The complex was previously used as religious and educational spaces, but is now being redeveloped into affordable housing.
The Dominican Sisters' new motherhouse is located at the former Marywood Health Center building at 111 Lakeside Drive NE.
Another selection for the historical register was the Luther Burbank Elementary School in Detroit. It's significant in Wayne County for education and architecture, with an art deco style and the exemplification of educational policies and trends in the city of Detroit in the 1930s and 1940s.
“School buildings anchor the neighborhoods they serve. When new school facilities are built, communities often struggle with how to best reuse these typically solid, well-constructed buildings,” MacFarlane-Faes said. “The adaptive reuse of former school properties positively contributes to neighborhood character, well-being, and investment."
The Fishtown Historic District in Leland, a rare surviving commercial fishing village on the Great Lakes, was added to the list for its deep roots in Michigan. The unique village preserves the history and architecture that comes with Michigan's fishing background.
“Fishtown is the heart and soul of the Leland community, it always has been. Over the decades its meaning and rarity have grown as commercial fishing has disappeared from other Great Lakes shore towns,” said Fishtown Preservation Society Executive Director Amanda Holmes. “Fishtown is more than a series of buildings, it’s a working waterfront that also helps preserve a way of life that has been an active part of this community for more than 170 years.”
Parkwyn Village, a housing subdivision in Kalamazoo that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1947, was honored, as well. Its significance comes from the state-level, in the areas of architecture and community planning and development, historical officials said.
The 42-lot neighborhood gained its name from the two main streets nearby, Parkview and Winchell Avenues. The Register committee says it was a rare and successful example of the cooperative housing movement of the postwar era.
“The recognition of Parkwyn Village as a national historic resource is a tribute to all those who have seen its ideals as worthy of preservation since its founding 75 years ago. They believed in not only its freeform layout with green spaces and distinctive individual design of homes, but also in ideals of fellowship with nature and non-discriminatory housing,” said Parkwyn Village Homeowners Association President Les Tung.
“Most importantly they continue to work toward the American vision of a democracy of service and active participation, an ideal first associated with our neighborhood by its designer Frank Lloyd Wright in 1947: ‘The Parkwyn project is an example of true democracy in action because it represents a group of people working together to achieve individual freedom.’”
Below is a full list of resources named by the National Register of Historic Places in the first six months of 2022:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
