314 Shelden Avenue & 314 East Lakeshore Drive
Swift's Hardware store moved locations in 1989. The original store is now home to The Marketplace. The warehouse was converted into apartments.
In 1869, William F. Swift, a lawyer and former state senator, established a business in Ishpeming, Michigan selling supplies to the local mining industry. He named the company for his wife, Ida Euphoria Swift. In 1899, as Keweenaw copper production boomed, the company established a Houghton branch. They added retail to their wholesale business and soon outgrew the Houghton quarters. In 1911, William’s sons, Paul D. and H. Leigh Swift, built a store on Shelden Avenue and an adjacent warehouse to the north.
The four-story Shelden Avenue store was constructed with brick walls and a steel frame on a sandstone foundation. The building's date and name are carved in the sandstone details on the Shelden side. The interior was finished with hardwood floors, electric lighting, a glass storefront, and plaster with pine trim.
The large brick warehouse was built just to the north of the store — between the waterside railroad and the service road now known as Lakeshore Drive. The waterfront location allowed bulk goods to be received by ship and train, loaded into the warehouse for storage, and then delivered directly to the store. Built solely to store bulk hardware goods, it had a cement floor and electric lighting, but no basement, plumbing or heating. It was topped with a galvanized gable roof.
In 1989, the business moved one block east and is run today by Paul's granddaughter, Marilyn, who has expanded its inventory to include garden supplies, household goods, and toys. The original store, with :SWIFT: carved in the sandstone details over the sealed-up door, was divided into several stores and named The Marketplace. The warehouse was converted into residential apartments. Both buildings prominently display their original name, I.E. SWIFT CO., in large block letters across the exterior.
Sources: Jaehnig, G. (2019, August 6). Swift Hardware celebrates 150th. The Daily Mining Gazette.; O’Connor, M. (2019b, May 21). Swift True Value Hardware serves community for 150 years. TV 6. State; Tax Commission (1937) from the MTU Archives; Perkins, C. (1989, February 1). Three Houghton businesses moving. Daily Mining Gazette, p. 8.; Helminski, B. & Boldrey, M. (2000, May 12) SS422 - Term Project. Report prepared for SS 422 History of American Architecture at Michigan Technological University; Swift family and store history provided by Marilyn Swift. Images: Marilyn Swift