65 Isle Royale Street
65 Isle Royale St. Houghton, MI 49931
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65 Isle Royale Street

Built 1899 as the James Dee Building
Original post office and home to Daily Mining Gazette
Converted to the Gazette apartments in 1980

This building once housed the Civilian Conservation Corps office.

James Dee, a pioneering entrepreneur and industrialist in Houghton, purchased this lot in the late 1890s. The four-story building featured Jacobsville sandstone on the exterior and large arched windows on the top floor, suggesting a Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. The sandstone pillars surrounding the main entrance were carved with decorative floral and geometric motifs. The third floor and basement were to be leased to the newspaper, the Daily Mining Gazette, formerly known as the Portage Lake Mining Gazette. The newspaper’s press room and printing were located in the basement; electric motors and binding facilities occupied the third floor. Today, the lettering art stating “The Daily Mining Gazette – In the Copper Country since 1858,” remains on the north side of the building. 

The first floor of the building was originally home to the Houghton post office until its move in 1923 to its current location. It housed various businesses and in 1939, it became home to the Civilian Conservation Corps. The second floor contained office suites and apartments. By 1965, the Gazette occupied most of the building. One of the two remaining apartments was converted into a lounge for female employees. However, the newspaper moved to a larger location and the building was converted to exclusively house apartments in 1980. Windows on the top floor were boarded up and the first floor storefronts were replaced with glass blocks. Today, the building continues to house 22 apartments, primarily rented out by Michigan Tech students.

Sources: Copper Country Architects; Historic Houghton Walking Tour; History of American Architecture SS422 Spring 2000 Term Projects (Spring 2000); Keweenaw Time Traveler; National Register of Historic Places registration (1987); Michigan Tech University Archives and Historical Collections MS044-001-006-014

Style:
Richardsonian Romanesque